(Andrew Milner | The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site) A one-acre site being excavated by scientists and volunteers before St. George begins construction on an electric power substation.
The Salt Lake Tribune has a story about the potential loss of a "paleontological jackpot" in Utah. St. George, Utah has an amazing dinosaur locality that dates to the beginning of the Jurassic Period about 200 million years ago. Unfortunately, the city of St. George plans to build a new electric substation on one of the best sites.
Fossils on the site, including the area slated for the substation, date back roughly 200 million years to the beginning of the Jurassic period, which followed a mass extinction event in the Triassic period that destroyed about 75% of life on Earth and ushered in the Age of the Dinosaur.
Andrew Milner, lead paleontologist and curator of the museum said the mass extinction paved the way for dinosaurs to become the dominant species for the next 100 million years. He said that also accounts for the importance of the area where crews have uncovered some well-preserved fossilized dinosaur tracks or footprints, among other major finds.
“It is one of the few known early Jurassic sites in western North America,” said Milner, who is overseeing the latest excavation.
Globally, according to Kirkland and Milner, the museum and surrounding areas are viewed as an important reference point for the boundary separating the Triassic and Jurassic periods and are regarded as the second-most important track site in the United States and 18th-most important in North America.
City officials say the new electric substation is needed to keep pace with the fast-growing population and energy demand in southern St. George.
