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By Toni Martinez / Community Correspondent
Special to the Sierra Star (Updated: Thursday, July 23, 2009, 6:37 PM)
While taking out the trash, Madera County found a treasure.
In May 1993, a heavy equipment operator accidentally uncovered an ancient mammoth tusk at the Fairmead landfill.
Fifteen years after the discovery, the San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation will open the 5,700-square-foot Fossil Discovery Center.
"The building will start construction in a couple weeks and the modular structure should begin construction in six to eight weeks," said Ray Beach, resource mangement agency director.
The board of supervisors awarded the building contract to Zumwalt Construction, Inc. in June.
Beach said they hope to open the Fossil Discovery Center by November.
However, it hasn't come easy. Earlier this year, the state froze funds on the construction for four months.
"We're working swiftly and diligently to get the earth work done so we can avoid funds being frozen and get this process going," said Norman Allinder, the project manager and planning director.
"This discovery separates us from other communities," said Terry Dolph, a member of the foundation's board of directors. "We are fortunate to share this scientific education with the rest of the world."
The Fossil Discovery Center is on the corner of Road 211/2 and Road 19 off Highway 99.
The center will overlook the landfill and dig site, as well as a panoramic view of the Central Valley.
Exhibits will consist of various fossil and visual displays, fossil preparation stations with volunteers demonstrating the excavation process and a hands-on mock "dig area" to sift for micro-fossils.
"The project has three key players: the county, CSU Fresno and the SJV Paleontology Foundation," said Grady Billington, president of the board of directors. "Each has a major role in making this happen."
The center has received almost $3 million in grants to fund the project. Main contributors include the California Cultural and Historical Endowment, the Institute of Library and Museum Services, California Parks and Recreation and Caltrans.
Since finding the tusk, scientists have uncovered more than 14,000 fossils on a 15-acre excavation site and are planning to dig during the 25-year lifespan of the landfill. The fossils date back to the middle-Pleistocene period, almost 1 million years ago.
"There is scientific significance because this find is the largest of this period on the West Coast of North America," said paleontologist Niranjala Kottachchi. "Very few sites show as much diversity as we have."
More than 37 different species have been uncovered so far.
Among the mammoths are saber-tooth cats, short-faced bears, giant ground sloths, prong-horned antelopes, camels, horses, wolves, rodents and other micro-fossils.
Scientists say the animals were attracted to watering holes that formed from a fan of prehistoric rivers flowing from the mountains to the valley.
The landscape is believed to have mirrored the Serengeti Plains of Africa because of its cool, wet climate, increased rainfall and savannah-like environment.
"Sometimes the rivers would flood and recede, leaving sediments containing most of the fossils," Kottachchi said. "How the fossils are preserved shows how they got there."
"The site has good potential for education and the possibility to bring more business and publicity that Madera County didn't have before," said board member Dr. Duane Furman. "More importantly, it's a chance to service our community."
The center will be an excellent place for school field trips and will serve as an educational resource for years to come.
"This place has unlimited value," Billington said. "We are educators and want to help students to get motivated to go to college and study science."
Now only months away from the anticipated opening, Madera County will soon have its own claim to fame.
Tiffany Tuell contributed to this story.
Reprinted with permission from the Sierra Star |
