- Target:
- Passaic County Parks Commission
- Region:
- United States of America
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.
The goal of this petition is to save a section of the former UBC quarry in West Paterson, NJ next to Rifle Camp Park and to have the park extended another 200 feet to preserve the last remaining section of the quarry that yields dinosaur tracks and other trace fossils from the Passaic Formation in the Early Jurassic Period of New Jersey.
By extending the Rifle Camp Park we would be able to preserve these fossils for future generations and make it a preserved historical site for future generations. We need a thousand signatures to get recognition by the parks commission.
Thanks, please pass on to everyone you know that loves fossils.
You can further help this campaign by sponsoring it
The Save The UBC Dinosaur Track Quarry, West Paterson, NJ petition to Passaic County Parks Commission was written by John McCauley and is in the category Science & Technology at GoPetition.