DOCUMENTING THE STEVEN C. MINKIN PALEOZOIC FOOTPRINT SITE

The Minkin Site at the Union Chapel Mine (UCM) near Jasper, Alabama, is recognized as one of the best and most prolific Carboniferous tracksites in the world. After the site was discovered in late 1999, more than a thousand slabs with trackways were salvaged during the first 18 months. The high recovery rate led to a major documentation program that continues to the present day. The documentation effort was initiated by the late Steven C. Minkin, who organized the first of several "Track Meets" at which collectors brought in specimens for photography and cataloging. This was the first time the collectors' group, today known as the Alabama Paleontological Society (APS), gathered for such a purpose, and was an effective way the large number of specimens could be handled without significant loss of scientific information. Almost every specimen found since 1999 has been given a UCM number, and all photographs have been made freely available to interested persons worldwide through an internet website, http://bama.ua.edu/~rbuta/monograph/. The website currently includes nearly 3000 photographs of approximately 2000 specimens of trace fossils, of which about half are vertebrate trackways. The APS brought the specimens to the attention of scientists for identification and further study. The collaboration resulted in a meeting held at the University of Alabama in 2003 and a 400-page monograph, "Pennsylvanian Footprints in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama," published by the Society in 2005. This monograph includes original research not only on the trace fossils found, but also on the rich paleoflora of the site. Many specimens have been donated to museums and a specimen location database has been prepared. The sustained effort by APS members is what made it possible for the Minkin Site to be rescued from reclamation and documented effectively.