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Thursday, April 8, 2010

Destruction of Canadian Fossils?

 Ginkgo adiantoides Leaf Fossil
Tranquil Shale - British Columbia, Canada
Image source Wikipedia
 
An article in the Vancouver Sun newspaper makes a blunt call to action comparing the destruction of the Eocene Period McAbee Fossil Beds to the sacking of the Library at Alexandria.  The McAbee Fossil Beds is composed of Tranquil Shale in Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada.  The article is basically calling for the government to review their mineral licenses of the area that is experiencing fossil destruction due to road building and repair.

Eohiodon Fossil
McAbee Fossil Bed - Eocene Period
Image compliments of Howard (Calgary, Canada)

See this web page on the Virtual Fossil Museum web site for some ideas of plant fossils found at the site.

Florissantia Fossil
McAbee Fossil Bed - Eocene Period
Image courtesy of Howard (Calgary, Canada)

Dr. Bruce Archibald, mentioned in the article, has a web site highlighting his research.

Pine Needles Fossil
McAbee Fossil Bed - Eocene Period
Image compliments of Howard (Calgary, Canada)

This website promotes the u-dig fossil operation (that might be the one cited in the article).  They state 50 varieties of plants can be found along with insects, fish, flowers, feathers, and cones fossils.

Here is the British Columbia government position on the site which also contains their research report.

Metasequoia Fossil
McAbee Fossil Bed - Eocene Period
Image courtesy of Howard (Calgary, Canada)

Maybe one day I will visit that area which seems so rich in natural resources and beauty.
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2 comments:

  1. Dark SlanderApril 10, 2010 at 5:38 PM

    This is so unfortunate, and alas I've seen it before many times. Here on my island I've seen countless sites with pristine carboniferous fossils be destroyed.

    There was a case where there was a huge Calamites several feet long. Just the bark impressions but it was a lovely specimen. Given the size of the matrix it was attached to it needed to be taken out with heavy equipment. I found it in the midst of a construction site and immediately reported it to the local government and fossil center.

    Neither cared. I came back only to see the specimen a few days later had been crushed up into pieces and carted away in a truck to be dumped into the ocean as armor stone.

    The Canadian government is amazingly moronic when it comes to fossils.

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  2. jbswakeNovember 25, 2013 at 12:03 PM

    Unfortunately, people believe everything they read at face value without delving further into the issue. Everything posted on this story has been a one-sided affair: that of science and a few scientists in particular, and while they have not lied, they have far from told the whole story. We had a 500m exposure that is 30m deep. The area protected is 500 Hectares. We were scratching at the surface within the whole site. There are 10 other exposures in the immediate area all with the same potential. We dug with hand tools only. We shared with science. We protected our site from trespassing. We were hardly villains in this whole story.

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