The 4,351-acre (17.61 km2) Monument is internationally significant because it protects one of the richest known fossil deposits from the Blancan North American Land Mammal Age.

A fundraising campaign at Hagerman helped send three Kenyan students to the internationally recognized Koobi Fora Field School, managed by George Washington University.

Students from all over the world attend to learn East African archaeology, geology, and primatology taught by experts in their respective fields.

[citation needed] In 2016, the Hagerman Paleontology, Environments, and Tephrochronology (PET) Project began their investigations into the geologic history at Hagerman with a focus on better dating individual fossil localities on the Monument and reconstructing the ancient landscapes that were there during the Pliocene.

The new Thousand Springs Visitor Center at the Billingsley Creek unit, opening in 2022, will feature all-new fossil exhibits and host ranger programs and other activities.