NLIS 2
January 24, 2003
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

 

Mistaken Point extension, emergency ecological reserve established

Julie Bettney, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, today announced emergency reserve status for an extension to Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve located on the southern Avalon Peninsula near Cape Race. This extension will protect a newly discovered fossil site directly adjacent to the existing reserve. The new site contains complex animal fossils that are even older than those previously identified in the area. Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, established in 1987, protects the oldest known Precambrian fossils (620-540 million years ago) in the world.

"Mistaken Point has the most spectacular assortment of Precambrian fossils anywhere on the planet," said Minister Bettney. "We recognize that this is a very valuable piece of our heritage that warrants protection. Reserves such as this one help tell the story of our development into the people we are today."

Professors Guy Narbonne, Queen�s University, and James Gehling, South Australian Museum, recently published the new fossil discovery in the January edition of Geology (Vol.31, No. 1, pp. 27-30). As such a publication often catches the attention of illegal fossil collectors around the world, the establishment of this emergency reserve is crucial.

"By giving the Mistaken Point extension reserve status, it makes the theft and destruction of the fossils illegal," said the minister. "Various community groups in and around Portugal Cove South support the establishment of this reserve and are to be commended for their dedication to the site. Their diligence, combined with the work of Parks and Natural Areas Division, will help prevent illegal activities from occurring in the area."

The Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation has the authority to establish an emergency reserve under Section 22 of the Wilderness and Ecological Reserves Act if the area "in the opinion of the Minister is in danger because of some imminent activity, action or event of becoming an area that would not be suitable for the establishment of a reserve."

For more information about the fossils at Mistaken Point or for research/education permits, please contact Parks and Natural Areas Division at (709) 635-4520 or parksinfo@gov.nf.ca

Media contact: Melony O�Neill, Communications, (709) 729-0928.

2003 01 24                                       10:55 a.m.


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