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Study of prehistoric tracks in the works Hay River museum volunteer says action is urgently required to record discoveryPaul Bickford Northern News Services Published Thursday, Aug. 31, 2012
Bruce Green, a Hay River Museum Society volunteer with an interest in natural history, has taken it upon himself to try to organize a study of the site. "I'd like to undertake a study on behalf of the museum," he said. The 10 or so circular/oval impressions in the rock are believed to be tracks created 360-380 million years ago by a large walking fish. Donald Henderson, curator of dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alta., examined the tracks in June and called them an important find. The world's only other example of such tracks by large lobe-finned fishes from the Devonian Period is in Poland. Henderson believes that, based on the age of the limestone rock, the impressions were likely made by a fish called sauripterus, which was up to six metres long, pushing itself along in shallow water by using its large fins. Those animals lived long before dinosaurs even existed. Green said the first thing needed for a study is permission from the parks division of the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI), since the tracks are in Twin Falls Gorge Territorial Park, and he is preparing a letter to send to the department. "If they will give us permission, what I'd like to do is go down and work on the site," he said. "Basically to measure and map and take what's called a latex peel of a section of the track. That will give us a detailed record of what's on the track way without damaging or disturbing it in any way." Green is planning to organize a committee for the work, which will involve cleaning the site of debris and sediment, photographing it and mapping it. "The last thing would be to take a peel of it," he said. Green said, if permission is obtained, he would like to get started in the next couple of weeks. "It needs to be done right away. It's quite urgent, actually," he said, noting the site is deteriorating and the rocks are crumbling away. Henderson said he would not be officially involved in any study, since it is out of his jurisdiction as an Alberta government employee. "It's pretty much a local thing now," he said, although he noted he has provided information to Green. "I don't think cutting them out is viable," Henderson said of the tracks, pointing out the rock is just too fragile. Instead, he also believes peels should be made of the tracks. Green said he will consult with Henderson on the project to do things properly without damaging the site. "I will check with him every step of the way, actually," he said. The peels could be used to make casts for display at the Hay River Heritage Centre, tourism information centres and elsewhere. Green noted there are no plans to cut any of the tracks out of the rock. "I wouldn't want to disturb the site," he said. "Actually, the rock is kind of soft and crumbly. It wouldn't be an easy task to do." Nor is there any plan to excavate in search of additional tracks. Green would like to see the area recognized as a national heritage site. "We've got something world-class here and it could really boost tourism if it's handled the right way," he said. Green noted a couple of more areas of tracks have been discovered in the area above Alexandra Falls. Lloyd Jones, superintendent with the South Slave region for ITI, said a study of the site would require a scientific research permit from the Aurora Research Institute. Jones called the tracks a significant find that could be an attraction for visitors to the NWT. When the tracks were created, Henderson believes the rock was underwater near the shore of a shallow tropical sea. At that time, the land was near the equator, but over the last few hundred million years has moved north with the tectonic motions of the continents. Since the tracks were spotted in 2009 by a visitor to the park, their condition has noticeably deteriorated.
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