COOPERATION AMONG AMATEURS AND PROFESSIONALS TO SALVAGE A NEW LOWER PENNSYLVANIAN TRACKSITE IN ALABAMA

The Union Chapel Mine of north-central Alabama has yielded about 900 slabs with well-preserved amphibian trackways, placing it among the world’s most prolific Carboniferous tracksites. Trackways were collected from tailings of shale overburden above the Mary Lee coal seam (Pottsville Formation). Amateur collectors of the Birmingham Paleontological Society (BPS) discovered the site in early 2000, realized its importance, and salvaged material from the site before the stripmine was reclaimed. They also alerted Alabama and Georgia scientists.

In August 2000, BPS members held the first of two “Track Meets” to identify, label, and photograph trackways. The Alabama Museum of Natural History hosted the event, which was also attended by newspaper and television reporters. Talks were given by BPS, Survey, and Museum staff on the site’s geologic context and significance, as well as the ethics of private collecting. Labels were fixed on slabs to prevent the loss of information in private collections. The most significant specimens were marked, and many were immediately and generously donated to Museum and Survey collections.

The ethics of private and public collecting are blurring as private collectors become more professional and professional scientists and collections become less funded. Many vertebrate paleontologists regard only public collections as ethical repositories, a laudable but often impractical viewpoint. In this case, the fossils would have gone unnoticed without the efforts of amateurs, and few specimens could have been rescued by overcommitted scientists before reclamation. Moreover, the volume of collected material is beyond the local institutions’ capacity. The site’s importance might have been missed. Instead, some of the best tracks are in public hands; we know where all tracks are stored; and a healthy bond has been forged between institutions and collectors.