Earl and Mary Ellen Edwards of Moon, who have spent countless hours walking on various sections of the Montour Trail between Coraopolis and Clairton, thought it would be helpful to put together a geology guide to the popular trail for themselves and others.

As members of a local geology support group, they knew just who to ask about preparing one -- David K. Brezinski and Albert D. Kollar of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Oakland.

The pair have developed geology guides for four city and county parks in the Pittsburgh region: Schenley, Frick, Riverview and North. They also prepared guides to the "Ice Age Geology of the Laurel Highlands" and "Geology and the French and Indian War in Western Pennsylvania." The latter shows how geology "played an important role in the initiation of this war as well as the major campaigns" that followed in Western Pennsylvania.

Kollar said the guides have been very helpful in teaching the public about local geology and paleontology. In 2004, Brezinski formed the geology group called PAlS, Patrons and lauradanae Supporters. A lauradanae, now extinct, is a tiny fossil that had a head, legs and tail. The group meets three times a year. One of its meetings includes a fall geology and fossil-collecting field trip.

The goal of PAlS is to nurture interest, support, development and advancement of invertebrate paleontology and geology topics in the Tri-State region. Membership is open to anyone with those interests and entitles them to free lectures, fossil-collecting field trips, a family day for young supporters, an annual newsletter and an official membership card.

A one-year individual membership costs $50; a family membership is $75.

Kollar, who holds bachelor's and master's degrees in geology, has worked at the museum for more than 30 years. His responsibilities include informing the public about geology, leading field trips for various outdoor organizations such as Venture Outdoors and the Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, and conducting fossil research from the Appalachian Mountains to the Rocky Mountains. He also serves as the curator of the museum's collection of fossil seashells.

For more information, go to www.carnegiemnh.org/ip/pals.htm.

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