MESOZOIC

RESEARCH _Valorization of the palaeontological heritage

Valorization of the palaeontological heritage

The discovery of important dinosaur tracksites along the Transjurane highway evoked the idea of a Jura Geopark (Berger, 2003), allowing for integration of other existing geosites (Baechler et al., 2003). So far, a commission charged to evaluate the possibilities and the economic potential of such a Jura Geopark has been founded and a feasibility study is about to be finished. In fact, a future Jura Geopark, which, integrated into a regional green- or eco-tourism concept, may create and safeguard jobs and provide sustainable economic development in a rural area (Marty et al., 2004).

Conservation of dinosaur tracksites

Photo 1: A school class on the Courtedoux—Sur Combe Ronde site during the open days.

They offer the possibility of combining scientific study of palaeontology and geology with a didactic and cultural purpose. They are easily accessible and have excellent opportunities for public viewing. These combinations of factors make the sites superior in comparison with other similar sites in Switzerland.

Both sites can be protected in situ underneath a highway-bridge specifically built for this purpose. This offers many possibilities (development as an interpretive centre, museum, etc.) for scientific and geotouristic use, and the sites could figure as main attraction of the Jura Geopark (Marty & Hug, 2003b, 2004).

Dinosaur tracksites as geotopes

Fossil footprint sites are particularly significant as not only are they part of the ancient landscape, but they are also part of the present landscape (Lockley & Meyer, 1997; Jordan, 1999). In most parts of the world, fossil footprint sites are considered an important part of natural heritage and have become integral parts of the cultural heritage in the regions where they are located (Lockley & Meyer, 1997). As they are normally very large sites, they can only be preserved in situ. Erosion or natural weathering is the main danger threatening a tracksite and if no protection (by a roof or other adequate structure) is provided, it will eventually be destroyed (Winkler, 1987). Protection against weathering is thus the most important part of the conservation process. Once a site is protected, it has to be maintained to prevent covering by vegetation. As such an outdoor protection is expensive, most of the protected tracksites are also made accessible to the public and used as tourist attractions in geoparks or dinosaur-parks.

In Switzerland, the Lommiswil tracksite (Meyer, 1990) was the first geotope to be protected officially and an observation platform with notice boards has been installed (Berger, 1999).

In Europe, sites such as Münchehagen (Fischer, 1998) and Barkhausen, Germany (Kaever & Lapparent, 1974), “La Ruta de las Icnitas“ (“the route of trackways”) in La Rioja, Spain (Moratalla, 1993; Moratalla et al., 1997), and Fatima (Santos et. al, 1994) and Carenque (Santos et al., 1992) in Portugal all represent similar developments around fossil footprints. The Barkhausen and Münchehagen sites have been protected under especially constructed sheds and the latter is today the centre of a dinosaur park (Dinosaurierpark Münchehagen). In Portugal at least five national monuments have been created in the last decade around important tracksites. The most spectacular is the Carenque tracksite, in the suburbs of Lisbon, where a tracksite was found in the path of a freeway development (Santos et al., 1992; Galopim de Carvalho, 1994) The Portuguese government and president intervened to divert the freeway through two tunnels beneath the tracksite, at a cost of about 8’000’000 $US (early 1990s value) (Marty et al., 2004).

In the USA, several parks (Dinosaur Ridge, Dinosaur State Park, Dinosaur Valley State Park) have been set aside to preserve and display vertebrate footprints. Dinosaur Valley State Park and Dinosaur Ridge, Colorado (built around a dinosaur tracksite) receives tens to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Similar sites and visitation figures can be cited for localities in Texas and Utah. This tourist development has taken place only in the last ten years (Hayden et al., 2001; Lockley and Taylor, 2001, Kirkland et al., 2002).

In China, several tracksites are under consideration for inclusion in the UNESCO’s International Network of Geoparks programme and, in Japan, a tracksite at Sebayashi provided the impetus for the development of the “Nakasato Dinsoaur Center”. In Queensland, Australia, the Lark Quarry site (Thulborn & Wade, 1984) is accessible to the public and has been protected from normal processes of erosion by a roof (Agnew et al., 1989). In South Korea dinosaur tracksites have been used for the construction of large dinosaur parks (Dinosaur Theme Park).