tsa-la-tsi-s-gi gv-do-di ka-ne
dance
- with - snake
DANCES
WITH SNAKES
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tsa-la-tsi-s-gi gv-do-di ka-ne dance
- with - snake
DANCES
WITH SNAKES
|
|
The
Trouble with Fossils By
Virgil G. Richards President,
July
18th, 2005
In
April of this year members of the Tulsa Rock and Mineral Society were treated to
a rare opportunity. Recent highway and private construction had once again
unearthed a trove of carbon film plant fossils of Pennsylvanian age in the
Seminole Formation of Northeast Oklahoma, near Tulsa. By “rare opportunity,” I mean that this is only the second time since the
early 1970s that this particular formation and its hidden, yet fragile, history
have seen daylight. The last time was nearly four years prior at the same
locality when private construction bisected the formation underlying the
Checkerboard Limestone and Coffeyville Formations (Bennison, 1972). After
hearing of the site and the presence of the fossils, I took the opportunity to
assess the feasibility of setting up a field trip to the locality for club
members. A preliminary survey of portions of the site verified that there were
ample specimens available. Additionally, my preliminary survey introduced me to
one of the property owners of the private construction project adjacent to the
highway expansion and improvement. With proper permission obtained, we quickly
organized a field trip for club members for the following weekend. The
next Saturday found approximately a dozen members at the site ready to collect.
A construction supervisor who happened to be working the site was helpful in
quickly preparing a portion of the rich fossil layer by ripping several trenches
across the main layers, exposing thousands of fresh plant fossils for us to
collect. Carbon film comprised the bulk of the fossils recovered; however, there
were several other types of trace fossils in evidence. One of these was a nice
specimen of a calamites cast in the shale member of the formation representing the
upper Seminole (Bennison, 1972). There is some controversy as to whether
the cast represents the actual growth habit of the calamites, or a slump feature of the sediments in which it was
buried. As the specimen was found in a living position, this may be a difficult
issue to resolve. Other representative specimens include carbonized wood and
transitional fossils from the contact zone of the upper Seminole Formation and
Checkerboard Limestone member. One
of the problems with the fossils of the Seminole Formation is lack of
durability. Specimens are subject to rapid deterioration and desiccation from
moisture content changes due to exposure to air. Too much moisture, and the
shale matrix quickly becomes so much mush; too little moisture, and it crumbles
to dust. Either extreme means the fossils are lost forever. The carbon films are
fragile, yet amazingly detailed in their preservation, representing a tropical
forest floor nearly three hundred million years old. More than forty species of
plants are identified in the fossil layers of the Seminole Formation (Bennison,
1972). By
now you may be wondering about the title of this article, “The Trouble with
Fossils.” So begins the seemingly unending saga of how a perceived public
interest story can go strangely awry. In early June I was contacted by a local
television news journalist interested in doing a story on the fossils for the
local evening broadcast. After consideration and a couple of phone calls, I
agreed -- along with other members -- to grant an interview and allow them to
photograph some of the specimens recovered from the site. This all seemed
innocent enough and seemed to go smoothly at the time. I’m not sure how to
relate what happened after the story aired that evening… I had no concept of
what would happen within days of the broadcast. By the start of a new week, I
was hearing rumors of problems with the Upon
hearing of the site closure, I immediately contacted the Project Engineer who
had issued the statement, in order to clear up a few misconceptions regarding
the club's collecting activity at the site. I spent several hours conversing
with the project engineer, ODOT’s environmentalist, and their public relations
department to mend fences. I granted a subsequent interview to another local
television station in an effort to get the message across regarding the public
safety concerns and my agreement with ODOT’s decision to make the site
off-limits. This was not to be the case, however. When the second interview
aired it was cut to thirty seconds, and the issue was now a “Fight Over
Fossils” and a disagreement between ODOT and myself.
Go figure -- more than thirty minutes of footage stressing public safety
and my agreement with ODOT was left on the cutting room floor. Back
to the phone and I once again apologized to ODOT for a misrepresented point of
view. Ultimately, this led to a formal meeting between myself, ODOT officials,
members of the Tulsa Rock and Mineral Society, local educators, and
representatives of The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (at the
request of ODOT’s environmentalist). At this meeting we discussed our role in
the collection and preservation of specimens from this site, the validity of our
interests, and the educational and scientific importance of the collection and
preservation of these fragile fossils. Following
the meeting we reassembled at the construction site for a firsthand assessment
and clarification of where the original collection had taken place (which,
incidentally, was determined to be exactly as we stated: on private property
adjacent to ODOT’s jurisdiction). We were escorted to the construction site,
where another local collector and I assisted members of the Sam Noble team in
determining the feasibility of doing a vertical section study of the exposed
Seminole Formation. It was determined that there was enough interest to arrange
a study to be done. The
following weekend found us back at the site to observe the Sam Noble team as
they prepared a vertical section study and collected representative specimens
from the approximate twenty-meter exposure. We also took the opportunity to do
some further collecting of our own, as this would be the last opportunity to do
so before completion of the project. ODOT had also arranged for their own
photographer to be present to document the study and collection of specimens. As
a side note here, I should mention that this study was taking place on Father’s
Day, and it was very gracious of ODOT to arrange to be there and permit the
study and collection. Several ODOT officials and personnel were present for most
of the day, and my thanks go out to them. It
would seem that what began as a public interest story and morphed into a
perceived controversy has ultimately led to an exciting and continuing working
relationship between the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Tulsa Rock and
Mineral Society, and the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History.
As of this writing two major specimens from my own collection are at
Division VIII headquarters for a photography session. A lengthy article and
photo-essay is planned for ODOT’s internal publication, which has a statewide
distribution. I am excited about the future of our relationship with ODOT in
regard to collecting activities on state owned highway construction sites. As
long as the guidelines are followed, we can expect full cooperation when a site
of interest is identified.
References: Bennison,
A. P. 1972, “Fossil Plants of the Seminole Formation (Pennsylvanian) in Virgil
G. Richards ©2005
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