A construction crew damaged 112-million-year-old dinosaur footprints when attempting to repair a boardwalk at the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite in Utah.
The Bureau of Land Management announced the mishap regarding the fragile trace fossils in a recently released assessment calling for more oversight by paleontologists.
“Even though the overall damage to the site was minimal, had the project not been stopped, it is likely that much greater damage would have occurred with increased construction activities,” Brent Breithaupt, a regional paleontologist with the Bureau of Land Management, wrote in his report. “When the project continues, better paleontological oversight is needed for all aspects of the project.”
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The report notes that “necessary improvements and maintenance were required at the MCDT to improve visitor safety, accessibility, and enjoyment.” Construction began in January, but it was halted when fossil damage was reported to social media and the news. The project was placed on hiatus as Breithaupt conducted his assessment.
Some of the damage could have also resulted earlier than the construction, as the report notes signs of heavy foot traffic and tire tracks.
Following recommendations by Breithaupt, the Bureau of Land Management said it will be conducting an additional environmental assessment, will work with paleontologists, and consider public input before resuming construction. “BLM is committed to protecting plant and animal fossils on our public lands,” the agency said in a post online.
The track site became a popular tourist destination after being discovered in 2009. The site features over 200 fossilized tracks from 10 different types of animals and is unique because it offers a snapshot of the Cretaceous Period, which ran from 145 million years ago to 66 million years ago, according to the Bureau of Land Management. Other fossil sites in the area are from the Jurassic Period, which predates the Cretaceous Period, dating back from 200 million years ago to 145 million years ago.
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Patrick Donnelly, who is part of the Center for Biological Diversity, said the damage could have been worse but that what transpired is also irreversible.
“They’re not making anymore dinosaurs,” Donnelly told the Washington Post. “So these tracks in some ways are like an endangered species — and we really need to protect them like one.”
