Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Save The UBC Dinosaur Track Quarry, West Paterson, NJ

Some Early Jurassic (Passaic Formation) dinosaur and reptile tracks are in danger of being destroyed in New Jersey so that condos can be built on the location. This is a petition to help gain attention to their importance and and have them included in the existing Rifle Camp Park. Please feel free to read the petition text below. A link to the petition can be found at the bottom of this post. Please feel free to sign it and pass it on. ~ ReBecca

"The UBC Quarry in West Paterson, NJ has been a unique fossil locality for scientific research and spectacular fossils from the Passaic formation in the Early Jurassic period of NJ since the 1960's. Many discoveries over the years have yielded a great deal of knowledge to the scientific community in the area of trace fossils (ichnology) during this unique time period.

Large museums and universities have done research projects and collected at the quarry to add to their collections and preserve these fossils. Ironically most of the fossils from this quarry are in private hands and not in a museum for folks to enjoy. The quarry was once an active quarry for many years but now has been sold to a developer to create high end condos that overlook NYC.

The remaining fossils in the quarry will be forever lost if the developers are allowed to demolish the remaining section of the quarry to complete their development. No more fossils from this period will ever be able to be collected again as this is the only place in NJ that has fossils from this time period. Once this section is gone there will be no more science or fossils to be gained. There is one section of the quarry left next to Rifle Camp Park that is of scientific significance that is threatened to be lost forever due to the development of these condos.

Some of the best preserved dinosaur and reptile footprints have been found in this quarry which do not compare to any other locality from New Jersey. Dinosaur tracks and fossil trace fossils have been a very unique, rare, and are an important piece of our fossil history and deserves to be protected. The state of New Jersey has done very little to protect fossil localities compared to other states in the USA and that is why we need your help. Trace fossils are a very important part of the state of New Jersey's history just like Hadrosaurus foulki and deserve to be protected, preserved and enjoyed by future generations. Let's not make this just a memory like other fossil sites in Northern NJ.

Let's make it a preserved site forever. Time is running out and only a few months left till it is gone forever. Thanks."

Online petition - Save The UBC Dinosaur Track Quarry, West Paterson, NJ

Thanks to Rissa for the heads up on this!

8 comments:

Heather said...

Im a undergrad paleo student and if there is nothing left for me to study after graduate school, I'm taking down businesses!

Anonymous said...

I did my part and signed the petition.

Ian,
Yes, businesses have little regard for things that don't fill their wallet. The same goes for endangered species and habitat conservation. They would rather churn out a profoit than see dwindling natural resources preserved for the future.

Heather,
At least you're an undergrad! If fossils keep getting poached and paved over, and if paleo programs keep getting the axe, then I'll half to pick a new major before i get to a real college!

NJTNTM said...

Thank you all for your comments. I am working with my nonprofit museum - The New Jersey Track and Trace Museum to help preserve this quarry for future generations. It has been a tough battle but we are making progress. The important area may be preserved but needs further approval from the local parks commission. Don't give up on being a paleontologist yet :) Maybe you can help expand the NJTNTM as we need more help. Thanks. - John McCauley
http://www.freewebs.com/njtntm/

NJTNTM said...

Thank you all for your comments. I am working with my nonprofit museum - The New Jersey Track and Trace Museum to help preserve this quarry for future generations. It has been a tough battle but we are making progress. The important area may be preserved but needs further approval from the local parks commission. Don't give up on being a paleontologist yet :) Maybe you can help expand the NJTNTM as we need more help. Thanks. - John McCauley
http://www.freewebs.com/njtntm/

NJTNTM said...

The final wall of the quarry with the fossilized tracks is being bulldozed this week. The fate of the actual tracksite is unknown but could be gone after this week. Another fossil battle potentially lost to developers.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

That really really sucks! Thanks for the update :(

NJTNTM said...

Update on the UBC Quarry tracksite. The site of the dinosaur tracks has been fully bulldozed over and is now forever lost. We saved as many tracks from this site as we could over the last 3 years but were unsuccessful in saving the site for future generations. Another loss for New Jersey's natural resources. When will someone listen and protect our natural history in this state.

ReBecca Hunt-Foster said...

That really sucks!! I am so very sorry to hear that they did that. Thank you for letting me know and for all that you all were able to do on the ground there. I will let people know what happened.