ON SOME PIVOTAL EVENTS AND PLAYERS IN THE HISTORY OF PALEOBOTANICAL STUDIES OF THE EARLY EOCENE OKANAGAN HIGHLAND FLORAS (BC AND WA)

The origins of plant fossil collecting in the Okanagan Highlands of British Columbia, Canada and northeastern Washington are closely intertwined with geological surveys and mining exploration from the 1870's onward. Early reports in BC were first produced by Sir J. William Dawson, his son George Mercer Dawson, and D. P. Penhallow. Early reports noted sites at Stump Lake and Princeton including the site where fossil Azolla was described by Arnold in 1955. Palynological studies by Hills, Rouse and others in the 1960s laid the framework for understanding regional stratigraphy, and fossil fish work by Wilson in the 1980s highlighted the paleobotanical potential of several sites. The Princeton chert was first described in the 1970s, with Miller's work on Pinus arnoldii. Over 30 systematic studies authored by first Basinger (Paleorosa, Metasequoia milleri), Rothwell and then a sustained series of papers by Stockey with her students and colleagues from the early 1980s on. Systematic studies during the 1980s also included Betula leopoldae from One Mile Creek by Crane and Stockey, and a monograph by J.A. Wolfe and Tanai in 1986 on the Tertiary fossil history of Acer. Other BC floras are now known from Driftwood Canyon (Driftwood Creek beds or ‘Smithers’), Horsefly, McAbee, Quilchena, and Falkland among other sites. These later sites have been featured since 2005 in paleoecological and paleoclimate reconstructions based on spore-pollen and leaf floras, but have also seen significant systematic works focused on seeds and flowers, by Manchester, Dillhoff and others. The role played by diatomaceous biofilms in preserving the Okanagan Highlands plant and insect fossils was highlighted in the work of A.P. Wolfe and Mustoe.

In northeastern Washington, the Republic flora was known from the early 1900's, as fossil leaves and fish were recovered during mining operations. Early studies by Berry, Brown and Chaney described Republic fossils but the site was regarded as conifer-dominated and relatively depauperate until Wes Wehr and Kirk Johnson discovered a diverse flora at the "Corner Lot" in Republic in 1977. Wehr promoted the Republic flora with informal workshops. The 1987 monograph by Wolfe and Wehr laid the foundation for over 44 subsequent studies. Since 1987 Stonerose Interpretive Center has supported public collecting and research.