Before Dr. Martin Gaudin Lockley set his sights on studying the footprints of dinosaurs, the scientific field known as paleoichnology attracted little notice or respect. The tall, talkative, Denver-based paleontologist who died of cancer on Nov. 25 at age 73 is largely credited with changing that by tracking fossilized dinosaur walkways on nearly every continent.
For more than 40 years, Lockley identified and mapped Jurassic and Cretaceous period tracksites in Colorado and everywhere they’ve been found. His insights substantially increased knowledge about dinosaur activities including courtship, parenting, migration and herding behaviors.
“I’ve asked other leading paleoichnologists about Martin’s influence and there’s no debate that he stood alone,” said Friends of Dinosaur Ridge (FODR) executive director Jeff Lamontagne. “As one colleague put it, Martin was the gold standard for identifying dinosaur tracks.”
Born in South Wales, Martin followed in the footsteps of his father, renowned ornithologist and prolific author Ronald Lockley. His father’s research and studies in natural science were a lifelong source of inspiration, as were several of Ronald Lockley’s famous friends, including Julian Huxley, Richard Adams and Sir David Attenborough.
Lockley moved to the U.S. to teach geology at the University of Colorado Denver in 1980 during the oil and gas boom. That was when and where his research on creatures from the Age of Dinosaurs began. It wasn’t long before his work began attracting professional attention and public excitement for the lesser-known branch of paleontology. Lockley was fond of pointing out that fossil bones don’t demonstrate how animals lived the way tracks do. He made the case in a 2022 TEDx Talk that has so far attracted more than a million views.
During his 30 years at UCD, Lockley traveled to hundreds of remote geological sites around North America, Asia, Europe, South America and East Africa. When he wasn’t in the field or teaching, he was an avid writer, publishing more than 600-plus peer-reviewed articles, 1,000 papers, and 17 books. Lockley received numerous awards, including most recently the Korean Presidential Citation for Contribution to Cultural Heritage Protection in 2020. He was the first non-Korean to receive the award.
Lockley was driven in non-academic ways as well. In his youth, he was a star athlete and two-time winner of the All-England Schools championship in shot put. He never became an American citizen but chose to live in the Colorado foothills in a home he filled with souvenirs from a lifetime of world travels. He enjoyed the views and opportunities to hike outdoors almost daily.
In 1989, Lockley co-founded the nonprofit Friends of Dinosaur Ridge (FODR) to protect the iconic sloping tracksite on the hogback 20 miles west of Denver. He co-founded other nonprofits, research institutes and a Dinosaur Track Museum, and led efforts to establish UNESCO World Heritage sites to protect trackways in other countries. He also served as associate curator at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and was director of science at Moab Giants in Utah.
In 2021, Lockley and colleagues ranked the top 12 dinosaur tracksites in the United States. Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison was named No. 1 based on 16 criteria, including the number of tracks, the variety of species, and ease of accessibility for public visitation. It was Lockley’s hope that Dinosaur Ridge and the surrounding area would one day be designated a UNESCO Global Geopark.
The nonprofit that manages tours at Dinosaur Ridge will rename its Discovery Center building near Red Rocks Amphitheatre the Martin G. Lockley Discovery Center in tribute to his countless contributions. The organization is working on an exhibit to feature items from the scientist’s personal collection, including his charming drawings and field notes, on a rotating basis starting in spring 2024.
Lockley is survived by his children Peter Lockley (Emily) and Katie Lockley Weller (Spencer); four grandchildren, Graham, Aurelia, Isla and Daniel; his nephew Daniel Lockley (Liz) and grand-niece and nephew, Juniper and Asher Martin. He is also survived by his sister, Ann Mark, and his long-term partner, Gretchen Minney. He was preceded in death by his younger brother, Steven Lockley, and his parents, Ronald Lockley and Jill Stocker Lockley of the U.K.
The Lockley family has suggested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Friends of Dinosaur Ridge at dinoridge.org.
Kristen Kidd of Littleton is director of marketing and communications at Dinosaur Ridge. She was a Colorado Voices columnist in 2010.
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