Last year, while walking with a quarry manager through his site, I asked if they often uncover fossils. He pointed to a stockpile and said, "pick up a rock." His point being that fossils were everywhere.

Significant fossil finds can create a dilemma for aggregate operations. Producers who make a discovery are faced with the potential for a disruption in their operation. A find could mean having to close part of the site to accommodate archeologists. This could result in downtime and other significant costs to the operation.

Fossil finds rank right up there with other topics producers don't like to discuss, such as illegal immigrants or production numbers.

But it is the moral obligation of any quarry manager to report significant finds. And doing so can have some very positive consequences. A good example is Hanson Fossil Park in Sylvania, Ohio. An old quarry exposed locally famous fossils. Hanson Aggregates converted that portion of the quarry into a park so the public could have safe access to this interesting site.

The company developed a plan that solved numerous problems, protected its long-term mining interests and reserves, and made for good relations with the community.

Who owns the fossils?

On private land, the landowner owns them, and has the right to decide their fate in most cases. However, significant finds still should be reported, and a knowledge of the precise location a fossil was found greatly increases its scientific value.

If you make what appears to be a significant find, contact an authority, such as an archaeology professor at a nearby university.

We will address this topic in more depth in an upcoming issue. In the meantime, we'd love to hear any stories or see any photo you may have regarding fossil finds at a crushed-stone or sand-and-gravel site. Send them by e-mail to info@pitandquarry.com
or by regular mail to: Darren Constantino, 600 Superior Ave. E., Suite 1100, Cleveland, OH 44114.

Darren Constantino
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
dconstantino@questex.com