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Contents

Awards........................................................................................................................................................ 3

2011 Staff ................................................................................................................................................... 3

Board of Directors ...................................................................................................................................... 3

Mission Statement ..................................................................................................................................... 4

CFDC President Report ............................................................................................................................... 5

Report of the Executive Director................................................................................................................ 6

Gift Shop Report ......................................................................................................................................... 8

Annual Field Report .................................................................................................................................... 9

DRAFT Financial Statements ................................................................................................. 41

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Awards

Marketing Excellence – Morden & District Chamber of Commerce

2011 Staff

Lisa Burnett: Summer Staff

Matt Duda: Summer Staff, Weekend Ambassador

Trevor Fehr: Customer Service Representative

Joseph Hatcher: Assistant Curator

Shawnee Holmes: Summer Staff

Anita-Maria Janzic: Curator, Interim Executive Director

Colleen Kyle: Staff

Katie Magotiaux: Summer Staff, Weekend Ambassador

Danyell Maloney: Summer Staff

Tyler Schroeder: General Manager

Ashleigh Viveiros: Weekend Ambassador

Patrick Wiebe: Custodian

Board of Directors

President: Henry Penner

Acting Vice President& Secretary: Joseph Brown

Treasurer: Wes Schroeder

Town of Morden Appointee: Heather Francis

Board Members at Large: Ted Nelson

Kevin Campbell

Ron Laverty

Martin Gleadhill

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Mission Statement

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre is dedicated to excellence in fossil preservation,

research and learning experiences.

1. Governance

- Provide good governance

- Implement a committee structure

- Provide sound financial management

2. Finance & Administration

- Provide exceptional customer service

- Develop additional funding opportunities

- Develop the Gift Shop

3. Facility & Exhibition Development

- Secure land for the new museum

- Assemble a ‘panel of experts’ to guide the development of the new museum

- Develop a 5 year operational business plan for the current museum

4. Education & Program Development

- Cultivate partnerships with the academic community

- Improve and expand programming

5. Marketing & Promotion

- Create/implement a partnership development strategy

- Create/implement a marketing strategy

- Develop local support

- Develop the museum as a tourist destination

6. Research & Field Work

- Plan to develop a field station

- Enhance conservation of fossil specimens

- Engage in collaborative research

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CFDC President Report

I have had the privilege to serve on the board of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre for four

years. I want to thank my very capable Board for devoting many hours of work and making

my job as Chairman as easy as could be. We have had to make some hard decisions along the

way as we try to balance the realities of day to day museum affairs. At the same time we were

also working towards the dream of a new stand-alone museum.

The CFDC has been a leader throughout the region in promoting not just our museum but

museums throughout the region. Our museum is noted world-wide for its research and our

collection which just passed 1000 specimens. We have seen the value of the museum in direct

tourist dollars as well as being an educational component it brings. We have been focused on

our three organizational pillars: Education, Tourism and Research

Even now as I prepare to step down from the Board of Directors I am struck by the things that

have been accomplished in the past four years. The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre has

always had a strong eye on the future and doggedly pursued a new museum. We are now on

a much stronger financial footing. The CFDC is committed to offering a high quality and value

added experience within our current facility.

In the past four years we have worked hard to continue to grow our base of supporters

through deliberate outreach activities. A determined communication strategy was

implemented. These efforts have begun to pay off. We have also petitioned the Provincial

Government to become a Signature Museum. This is a designation the provincial government

gives to Museums that achieve a certain standard of excellence and are rewarded with some

additional funding to help operating expenses. I think that we achieved this level and

continued to follow those standards.

We have increased focus on the development of strategic partnerships with the University of

Manitoba, Western School Division, Travel Manitoba. Over 60 local businesses proudly display

CFDC promotional material. Many offer services for advertising. This is an endorsement of

the ongoing large financial support by the Town of Morden. We thank the Town and all of our

funders!!!

The Board has spent a great deal of energy in bringing some sense to our governance model.

A committee of the Board was established and this is all completed.

As I prepare to leave the Board I feel good about what we accomplished. I have a sense of

wonder what is in store for the new Board. There will be a number of new faces on the Board

and will bring a new direction. I look forward to seeing an exciting future for the Museum and

the community that supports it.

Henry Penner

President

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Report of the Executive Director

While 2011 was a somewhat tumultuous year it was also a very productive year both in the

field and back at the CFDC. Last year proved beyond a doubt the value of the CFDC volunteers

and showed them to be the heart of the organization.

Volunteers served in a number of capacities including board members, preparation crew, dig

crew, tour guides, tradeshow staff, camps and Fossil Club to name just a few.

Of course staff, both summer and year-round, were also invaluable in the day-to-day

operation of the CFDC and the overall management of programming and helping the CFDC

meet and exceed its mission to provide excellence in fossil preservation, research and learning

experiences.

2011 was also another year of growth for the CFDC that saw a total of more than 15,000

visitors come through the doors. Only 20 percent of our visitors come from within the

Pembina Valley. Approximately 40 percent of our visitors come from Winnipeg while another

22 percent come from outside of the province and the remaining 20 percent come from

elsewhere in the province. This means that more than 80 percent of the visitors to the CFDC

are coming from outside of the region – an enormous tourism value to the area.

Visitation Statistics 2011 Compared to 2010

2011 Programming

The CFDC ran a number of programs throughout the 2011 season that continue to prove

popular and see refinement including:

- Fossil Dig Adventure Tours of half day, one day, two day and five day lengths.

- School Tours, School Dig Tours

- Guided Tours of the Centre

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- Kids Programs like Spring Break Dino Camp, Fossil Club, and Summer Camps

- Bus Tours

- Field Internships and more.

Education

Furthering our mandate to educate has been a primary focus of 2011 as well.

A significant milestone was reached in 2011 when the CFDC signed a Memorandum of

Understanding with the University of Manitoba establishing a formal partnership. This

partnership will allow us to investigate and develop mutually beneficial programming and

educational links that will serve both organizations for years to come.

The CFDC has been welcoming various students over the years to access and study our

collection for educational purposes. Foremost among those students has been Keiichi Aotsuka

of Japan who, after years of researching and visiting published his masters’ thesis in 2011

entitled Description of the Hesperornithiformes (Aves: Ornithurae) from the Upper

Cretaceous Pierre Shale in Southern Manitoba, Canada.

Early indications are that Aotsuka’s work has uncovered a number of previously unknown

facts about the species and moved the entire scientific body of work forward in its area of

focus. It is these kinds of educational partnerships that continue to increase the stature of the

CFDC as a leading centre of discovery and research in the field of palaeontology.

Partnerships

The CFDC continues to focus on partnerships with other like-minded organizations both

locally and across the province. Chief among these partnerships in 2011 was the Pembina

Valley Passport Adventure which brought together museums and attractions throughout the

region in a very successful cross-marketing relationship which has had a significant impact.

Grant partnerships with the Federal and Provincial governments were helpful in continuing to

improve our research and programming initiatives. 2011 saw the CFDC secure it’s first Federal

grant of $67,500 from the ministry of Canadian Heritage which contributed to our two year,

$150,000 Conservation Initiative Project. This project also received funding from the

Manitoba Community Services Council and the Manitoba department of Culture, Heritage and

Tourism.

Overall 2011 continued to show growth and development in all of our key areas of focus –

education, research/science and tourism and it is our intent to continue this into 2012 and the

future.

Executive Director

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Gift Shop Annual Report – 2011

-Submitted by Trevor Fehr-

The Gift Shop has undergone some minor changes since June of 2011, most of which having

come from a re-organizing of stock based on statistical layouts. Taking into account the latest

research in retail, plush items were placed where children tended to go first, while the

educational toys were placed where adults tended to wander when first entering. T-Shirts and

‘collectors’ items were placed prominently before the exit, attracting those customers that

wish to enhance their museum experience with Gift Shop Souvenirs.

Spending costs dropped as more items from the Clearance section of businesses were utilized.

These new items for the CFDC were placed next to items of great value, increasing their over-

all ascetic value. The “We Dig Dead Things T-Shirts” were reasonably marked for pricing and

are hard-pressed to keep adequately stocked throughout the year. Due to a difficult economy,

more visitors tended to purchase items that were ‘discounted’, or ‘on sale’, but instead of

such labelling I presented a proposal: Buy a popular item, receive another item at discounted

value. This other item would be a ‘slow-mover’. But by pairing it with a popular purchase, it

was more likely that the slow mover would also be purchased, rather than simply be

discounted.

After the exit of the previous General Manager inventory accounting was outsourced to Krahn

& Friesen.

For the end of the year, I was given a task to include the Gift Shop Out-reach program, which

was to have other businesses carry our branded items at their store, allowing for subtle

advertising and sweeter sales.

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Annual Field Report

Submitted by: Joseph Hatcher

Assistant Curator

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2011 Snapshots of Discovery

"Dedicated to excellence in fossil preservation, research and learning experiences."

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The 2011 Annual Field Report is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Jim Roberts, one of our

former landowners and a great supporter of the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre. This page

has been otherwise left blank in his honour.

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Introduction

The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre (CFDC) held Heritage Permit No. A09-11 in

accordance with The Heritage Resources Act of 1987, issued by the Archaeological Assessment

Services, Historic Resources Branch of Manitoba Culture, Heritage, Tourism and Sport for the

2011 field season.

All fossil material collected under this permit occurred between May and October of

2011 and was directly supervised by CFDC Vertebrate Paleontologist, Joseph Hatcher. All

excavation occurred along the Manitoba Escarpment, specifically within the upland geographic

region of Pembina Mountain.

The CFDC maintains a site list of 35 different properties that have produced fossils

where field work has been conducted since the inception of the museum in 1972. While many

of these sites have not been revisited since the active bentonite mining in the area ended in the

mid 1980’s, the CFDC did visit 16 of these sites during 2011, along with a few new outcrops.

Sites searched and excavated under Heritage Permit No. A09-11 including their site name and

legal land description are available in Table 1.

The premises for permit A09-11 was both qualitative and quantitative and met all of the

following objectives:

To continue providing a program of active fossil recovery in the Pembina

Mountain area of the Manitoba Escarpment.

To increase the CFDC collection of marine vertebrate fossils from the Pierre

Shale and other geological formations spanning the Cretaceous deposits of Manitoba.

Continue research and data capture from dig sites and other supplemental

geological localities in the area.

Provide new material for small travelling exhibits, educational institutions, and

other museums.

To increase public awareness and knowledge concerning paleontology and

paleontological procedures.

To use this project to assist in generating revenue for the CFDC over the long

term.

To extract, prepare, preserve and catalogue recovered specimens and to make

some of these processes visible to the public during the winter months.

Increase knowledge and awareness of Manitoba’s unique geoheritage and

associated Cretaceous marine vertebrate fossils.

Both public groups and museum staff were responsible for the collection of fossil specimens

and their data is currently stored and maintained in the Collections Department of the Canadian

Fossil Discovery Centre, 111-B Gilmour Street in the town of Morden, Manitoba, Canada. A

back up copy of the collection database is stored off of the CFDC premises in a secure facility

at the Town of Morden Community Resource Office within the Civic Centre.

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Geological Setting

The Manitoba Escarpment, a physiographic feature that rises above the Red River

Valley, extends north-westerly across the southern of Manitoba. Cenozoic glacial activity is

responsible for the current topography of Manitoba, especially the escarpment. This escarpment

represents the easternmost edge of Cretaceous rocks within Manitoba.

All of the excavation sites during the 2011 field season were located in or directly

adjacent to previously mined bentonite quarries where layers of shale are exposed. Collection

and excavation were specific to the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation, and the Gammon

Ferruginous, Pembina, Millwood, and Odanah Members of the Pierre Shale.

FIGURE 1 - Composite stratigraphic column of the Cretaceous rock sequence along the Manitoba Escarpment highlighting the geological

formations and members covered in this report (Bamburak and Nicolas, 2010).

Carlile Formation

The Carlile Formation is composed of non-calcareous, carbonaceous shale of the 55 m

thick Morden Member, overlain by the 75 m thick calcareous, speckled, chalky shale of the

Boyne Member (Bamburak and Nicolas, 2009). The CFDC did not focus its field research on

the Morden Member in 2011 other than in outcrops located within Pembina Valley Provincial

Park under Manitoba Conservation, Parks and Natural Areas Research Permit 2011-B-HQ-

008.The CFDC did, however, devote a considerable amount of attention to field investigations

of the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Boyne Member in 2011 at sites ranging from the

Pembina Gorge near Walhalla, North Dakota (as a field guest of North Dakota Geological

Survey State Paleontologist Dr. John Hoganson) to the Snow Valley region, west of the town

of Roseisle, Manitoba.

Boyne Member

The buff, grey, calcareous shale of the Boyne Member is composed of two units: the

lower Calcareous Unit, and the upper Chalky Unit, separated by a resistant siltstone and

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sandstone sequence informally designated as the “Babcock Beds” at the top of the calcareous

unit (Nicolas and Bamburak, 2009). Outcrop exposures documented by the CFDC Field Team

throughout the Pembina Mountain area typically only expose various sections of the upper

chalky unit. The lower calcareous unit was only observed in the Snow Valley area, along road

cut exposures west of the town of Roseisle, MB where it is capped by the Babcock Beds.

Multiple outcrops of the seemingly monotonous Boyne Member exhibit varied

stratigraphic portions of the Member, with little change in the deposition and/or the lithofacies

representing this time of the Cretaceous. However, the CFDC Field Team was able to piece

together a rough stratigraphic picture of what a nearly complete Boyne Member (Chalky Unit)

section would roughly look like, with the most complete exposure outcropped along a road cut

in Snow Valley.

Outcrops were observed across a range of 53 kilometres (28.5 nautical miles) from as

far south as the Pembina Gorge west of Walhalla, North Dakota, along compass heading

165.26 degrees across the Canada/US international border, into the upland region of Pembina

Mountain, and as far north as Snow Valley. The Chalky Unit of the Boyne Member is only

subtlety diverse and requires intensive field investigation before various sections of the

member become discernible from one another. Based on observations and documentation with

Snow Valley and again at Pembina Valley Provincial Park, two stratigraphic layers of “coquina

shells” occur in-situ near the base of the Boyne’s upper Chalky Unit. These units could prove

to be useful biostratigraphic datum markers for the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation,

and could possibly correlate with similar oyster-shell beds from the Smoky Hill Chalk of the

Niobrara Formation of Western Kansas (Everhart and Everhart, 1992). One such correlation

has recently been made by measuring bentonite beds within the Boyne Member, and we can

now correlate one outcrop of the Boyne Member from the Pembina Gorge in North Dakota, to

another outcrop 38 kilometres to the northwest of the same Boyne Member in Manitoba, at Site

13 (NE1/4 Sec. 31-T3-R6).

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FIGURE 2 - Google Earth Image showing the newly correlated outcrops of the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation over 38 kilometres across the

Canada/US border.

FIGURE 3 -Image on the Left is of the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation in the Pembina Gorge of North Dakota; Image on the Right is from

Site 13 in the Pembina Mountain of Manitoba. Photographs courtesy of Jim Bamburak, Manitoba Geological Survey.

Pierre Shale

Gammon Ferruginous Member

The Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale is composed of non-calcareous,

carbonaceous, hard, and grey to black shale containing many red-weathering siderite

concretions (McNeil and Caldwell, 1981). Typically, the Gammon Ferruginous is absent within

outcrop exposures in the Pembina Mountain region, producing a geological unconformity

between the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation and the Pembina Member of the Pierre

Shale. However, the Gammon Ferruginous Member is known in Manitoba’s subsurface where

the Member has recently been measured at a maximum thickness of over 56 m in south-

western Manitoba, with a strong thinning of the deposits to the east (Bamburak and Nicolas

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2010). It was postulated in 1981 by McNeil and Caldwell that subsidence of post-Boyne

deposition uplift allowed for the Gammon sediments of the earliest Pierre Sea to make inroads

into the bevelled Boyne surfaces, and then subsequently, the Pierre Sea would spread out

further across Manitoba and lead to the deposition of the Pembina sediments (McNeil and

Caldwell, 1981).

Although rarely exposed in outcrop throughout the Manitoba Escarpment, the CFDC

Field Crew has spent the past two full field seasons (2010 and 2011, respectively) excavating

extensively in this unique lithology. The Gammon Ferruginous Member was reported by

McNeil and Caldwell to consist of three units as identified in electric logs (McNeil and

Caldwell, 1981), but lithologic descriptors were not provided. Excavation by the CFDC over

two summers in this Member confirms the presence of three distinctive units which our Field

Team have dubbed as the “Lower Gammon, Middle Gammon, Upper Gammon,” respectively.

Vertebrate skeletons have been recovered by the CFDC from all three units: The Lower

Gammon Ferruginous is a grey carbonaceous, non-calcareous shale with at least four bentonite

layers, sometimes turbulently mixed into one thinker band, and has produced CFDC specimens

M.09.01.13 (Clidastes) and F.09.03.13 (Xiphactinus) which were discussed in the 2012 field

report. The Middle Gammon Ferruginous is composed of black, waxy, non-calcareous,

carbonaceous shale with abundant red-weathering siderite concretions and has produced CFDC

specimen M.2011.01.13 (this report). The Upper Gammon Ferruginous is comprised of fissile,

grey, clay-rich swelling non-calcareous to calcareous shale and has produced one fossil avian,

CFDC specimen B.2010.02.13 (Hesperornis) which was discussed in the 2010 field report.

This one particular outcrop of the Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale in

Manitoba is the second thickest outcrop of this lithology in the Manitoba Escarpment

(Bamburak and Nicolas, 2010) and continues to produce vertebrate fossils of tremendous

paleontological significance. The Manitoba Geological Survey has found anomalous

occurrences of Rare Earth Elements (REEs) within the Gammon Ferruginous Member,

particularly Platinum and Palladium values, which has led to a hypothesis that shallow pools

where Gammon deposition occurred, trapped these Cretaceous animals, and the mineral

richness of the depositional environment carried a high degree of toxicity, which could partially

explain why the CFDC is finding so many taxa within a very localized outcrop (J. Bamburak,

pers. comm.).

Pembina Member

The basic lithology of the Pembina Member consists of non-calcareous, carbonaceous,

black shale with numerous bentonite horizons located in the lower portion of the Member

(Bamburak and Janzic, 2007). The sequence of alternating bentonite and carbonaceous shale

layers is commonly known as the “Ardmore Bentonite Succession” in equivalent beds on the

United States (Bertog et al. 2007). The Pembina Member has an average thickness of 7 metres

with a trend to thin out towards the north (Bamburak and Janzic, 2007). The Pembina Member

has produced the majority of the fossil collection at the CFDC to date, however it has not been

determined if this represents a particularly high fossiliferous zone or if the high yield of fossil

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vertebrates is due to a collecting bias from previous bentonite mining activities within the

Pembina Member (Nicholls, 1988).

Millwood Member

The Millwood Member conformably overlies the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale

and is exposed in many outcrops and former bentonite mines. Within the upland region of

Pembina Mountain, the Millwood Member is an average 18 m thick and consists of grey, non-

calcareous shale interbedded with light grey calcareous shale, both of which having a high

content of montmorillonite (McNeil and Caldwell, 1981; Bannatyne, 1970).

Banded concretionary layers have been observed near the top of the Millwood section

at sites 4, 16, and 26. These concretionary layers provide for the only physical stratigraphic

datum point in the Pembina Mountain area outcrops of the otherwise monotonous-looking

shale of the Millwood Member. Research published in 2007 announced the first occurrence of

a single fossil decapod specimen from a concretion in the Millwood Member of Manitoba

(Feldmann et al, 2007). A future study which looks closer into any possible decapod

assemblages in the Millwood concretionary layers could prove very useful for establishing a

stratigraphic datum within the Millwood Member.

Odanah Member

The Odanah Member of the Pierre Shale is the thickest member of this Cretaceous

formation, outcropping through the transition of the Second and Third Prairie Levels of the

Manitoba Escarpment. Vertebrate fossils are rare in the Odanah Member, though invertebrate

trace fossils are typically more common. The Odanah Member is composed of manganese and

iron rich, highly siliceous shale rendering it more resistive to weathering at the surface and as

such, municipal aggregate shale quarries abound in areas where the Odanah Member is near the

surface. The Rural Municipality of Thompson operates mines in the Odanah Member for use

on the country roads, due to its siliceous content and resistance to rapid weathering. The

CFDC has recently provided research assistance for a non-related project by the Rensselaer

Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Astrobiology in New York which has demonstrated that

a sodium bentonite has been identified which differs from all other known bentonites in

Manitoba and thus forms a new bentonite class and proves to have originated from a very

different magmatic source (Aldersley et al, 2011).

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FIGURE 4 – Bar graph showing the stratigraphic occurrence of the fossils collected by the CFDC during the 2011 Field Season.

Paleoenvironment

The Late Cretaceous Period was a time when the climate was regionally warmer and

more tropical than we experience today. Warmer temperatures resulted in the rise of eustatic

sea levels flooding lowlands of larger land masses. The Western Interior Seaway (WIS) was

one of the epicontinental seas spanning from what is now the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of

Mexico with an inlet from Hudson Bay during the Cretaceous Period. The maximum extent of

the flooding would have occurred during the Campanian Stage of the Late Cretaceous Period,

approximately 83 million years ago.

The maximum extent of the WIS at this time would have been approximately 1,000

kilometres from the eastern margin of the Rocky Mountain Front to the western foothills to the

Appalachian Mountains located in the east (Carpenter, 2006). A maximum water depth of

approximately 50 fathoms would have enabled the water currents and deposition cycles to

become represented by the highly fossiliferous Pierre Shale today.

Recent models of the WIS are based on azimuth orientation data of long bones to

produce taphonomic data for the sea floor (Carpenter, 2006, Hatcher et al, 2008) and the

surface wind conditions determined from ash fall patterns of the bentonite layers within the

Pembina Member (Carpenter, 2006). Deposition of the Pierre Shale was sourced from

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terrestrial sediments to the west (Jones and Blatt, 1984) which also occurred during a change in

paleomagnetic polarity, with the general accepted polarity being that of 33R, when the Earth’s

magnetism was drawing towards the South Pole (Mitchell, 2007; Hicks et al., 1999).

FIGURE 5 - 3-dimensional reconstruction of the western interior seaway during the Baculites obtusus ammonite range zone. Colors indicate approximate

elevations during this time. Blue is below sea level, green is above sea level. The darkest blue indicates the areas of deepest water. Red lines are modern

state boundaries for reference (Bertog, in-press). The Pembina Mountain region of the Manitoba Escarpment would be immediately north of the Williston Basin

in this figure.

Incidentally, throughout the Campanian Stage of the Cretaceous Period, the WIS in

North America experienced a prolonged regression referred to as the Claggett Cyclothem and

the presence of the mineral jarosite within many of the fossil-rich shale layers of the Pembina

Member is further support for extreme oxidation within the paleoenvironment (Adelman,

2007). Thus, it has been suggested that the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale is

representative of a somewhat sheltered area adjacent to the WIS, along the banks of an estuary

or sub-tidal lagoon (Hatcher, 2011; Hatcher et al, 2008; Adelman, 2007; Nicholls, 1988).

Based on the carbonaceous and non-calcareous shale of the Pembina Member, it is

generally assumed that the bottom of the sea floor was laden with organic debris (Bamburak

and Janzic, 2007). Since the organic carbon is amorphous type II, it was most likely derived

from marine plankton (Carpenter, 2006).

Research Goals and Strategy

Research for the 2011 field season was continued to move forward by having two field

vehicles which enabled a research team consisting of paleontologists, museum staff, volunteers

and research interns comprising approximately 95% of time spent in the field at designated

museum sites.

Public participants also assisted museum staff with research and excavation at public

sites. This provided new fossil material for the CFDC while also providing an opportunity for

educating the public on Manitoba’s prehistoric heritage.

The museum research program had four primary goals in 2011:

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1) Continued geological and paleontological field investigations into Gammon

Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale.

2) Continue field investigations into the stratigraphy and paleontology of the Boyne

Member of the Carlile Formation.

3) Prospect for discoveries in the highly fossiliferrous Pembina Member of the Pierre

Shale for public program excavations.

4) Conduct research into the history and geology of the railway construction of the

Northern Pacific and Manitoba Railway branch line that connected Morris to Brandon

in the 1880’s and its potential for fossil discoveries along the railway cuts in the

Manitoba Escarpment.

The CFDC started out the season focused primarily on resuming the excavation from 2010

in the Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale at the Xiphactinus Kill Zone Quarry at

Site 13. As the CFDC excavated overburden to the north and east, a new fossil mosasaur

skeleton was discovered in the basal portion on the middle unit of the Gammon Ferruginous

Shale. Excavation of this mosasaur (CFDC specimen M.2011.01.13) took the majority of the

field season, as much overburden was removed by hand. Fossil recovery resulted in the caudal

half of the skeleton, with a continuation of the specimen continuing to the east into the hill side.

This excavation is scheduled to continue is 2012. In addition, many other fossil vertebrates

were discovered in direct association with M.2011.01.13 including various fossil fish and fossil

bird specimens, which will also be covered in this report.

Field investigations into the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation and its potential for

fossil vertebrates resulted in the stratigraphic correlation of outcrops across the Canada/US

border and produced some new and exciting fossil discoveries including the first mosasaur to

be discovered from the Boyne Member in Manitoba (M.2011.02.13), a Tusoteuthis squid pen

(Q.2011.01.31), and a very well preserved Xiphactinus fish (F.2011.01.31). The results are that

the Boyne Member has the potential to produce a high yield of vertebrate fossils, which also

comprise a unique and separate taxonomic diversity than has been documented from the

overlying members of the Pierre Shale.

CFDC public programming continued to be placed in the Pembina Member of the Pierre

Shale due to the well documented potential for new fossil discoveries. By taking programs to

outcrops of the Pembina Member, participants are automatically in a good spot geologically to

increase their odds of making fossil discoveries. As such, some new large specimens were

discovered and collected as a result of this public programming, including two Cimolichthyes

fish specimens (F.2011.01.20 and F.2011.01.03).

The earliest known record of mosasaur discoveries in Manitoba is from the 1934 field notes

of paleontologist Charles M. Sternberg of the Geological Survey of Canada (Cuthbertson et al,

2007). However, the CFDC took note of Cretaceous Pierre Shale outcrops in railway cuts along

an abandon railway on the Manitoba Escarpment during a joint field trip with the Manitoba

Geological Survey in 2010. A hypothesis was formed that during construction of the railway in

the 1880’s, the railway grading team would have removed vast amounts of Cretaceous fossil-

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bearing shale in order to make the rail cuts up the escarpment and therefore those workers may

have made fossil discoveries about 50 years before C.M. Sternberg’s documented account in

1934. To investigate and test this hypothesis, the CFDC spent time conducting research at the

Miami Railway Museum and along the old railway bed near the old town site of Deerwood,

Manitoba. The results of this research were published and presented at the Third Manitoba

Paleontology Symposium in September 2011 (Duda and Hatcher, 2011).

FIGURE 6 - Stratigraphy of the Cretaceous Shale along the railway cut near Deerwood, Manitoba. Note the alternating black and white shale and bentontie

beds of the Pembina Member overlain by the grey shale of the Millwood Member.

Field Season Statistics

During the 2011 Field Season, the CFDC hosted visiting academic researchers from the

Manitoba Geological Survey, the North Dakota Geological Survey, North Dakota State

University, and Tokyo Gakugei University, in Japan.

FIGURE 7 - Visiting Japanese research students Keiichi Aotsuka and Momo Yamashita from Tokyo Gakugei University at M.2011.01.13

excavation site in 2011.

The CFDC Field Research Team spent 90 days in the field totalling 452 field hours

throughout the 2011 Field Season, compared with only 112 days totalling 640 field hours the

previous year (2010). This decrease in total number of field days did not decrease the

productivity of the rate of fossil discovery, however. The decrease in field days and hours is the

result of the second field vehicle being removed from research priority in order to

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accommodate increased public programming in 2011 and a third vehicle dedicated exclusively

to field research staff may be an option to pursue in 2012.

Wildlife

The Manitoba woodtick, Dermacentor variablis, is a common, small (~4 mm) insect

which inhabits most of the wooded areas within the Pembina Mountain region of the Manitoba

Escarpment. Their annual season began in April of this year, and overall their numbers seemed

to be less than in previous years. I personally removed a counted 177 total wood ticks from

myself throughout the season, down from 299 wood ticks removed in 2010. The decrease in

wood ticks is likely due to two factors: one being that the field season was drier than in 2010

and the other is that due to outbreaks of Lyme disease in within the principal study area of the

Pembina Mountain region, the CFDC field team made a concentrated effort to remain vigilant

against ticks (See Appendix A). The 2011 life cycle of wood ticks is charted in Figure 7. Wood

ticks are a constant companion during field work in Manitoba, and 2011 was no exception.

FIGURE 8 – Graph indicating the life cycle of Dermacantor variablis, the Manitoba wood tick, as encountered during the 2011 Field Season.

23

FIGURE 9 – Comparative graph of wood ticks removed from self during 2010 and 2011 field seasons, respectively.

Other wildlife typically encountered by CFDC field staff include western painted turtles,

coyotes, grasshoppers, wasps, black snakes, raccoons, ravens, geese, wild turkeys, white-tailed

deer, hawks, toads, and many other insects.

FIGURE 10 – Western Painted Turtle , wild turkey, and meadowlark bird encountered during 2011 field season on the Manitoba Escarpment.

A total of 36 specimens were accessioned into the CFDC collection from the 2010 field

season, while the 2011 field season has already accessioned 26 specimens and counting.

Sites

24

I.2011.01.00 – Ammonite

This specimen is an impression, or trace fossil, of an Ammonite which was discovered in the

Odanah Member of the Pierre Shale during the field trip component of the Third Manitoba

Paleontology Symposium hosted by the CFDC.

Site #1

This property is that of a former bentonite test pit from the early 1970’s from which the

first fossils in the CFDC collection were discovered! The site has since been rehabilitated and

most of the limited exposure consists of Millwood Member shale, littered with abundant glacial

erratic’s. The CFDC has not re-visited the site in almost forty years until 2010, when a tip from

one of the local landowners hinted at fossils still located there. The CFDC has since made a

few short visits to the property to meet with the landowner and to investigate the geology of the

site.

Prospecting in 2011 did not reveal any new fossils, in part due to the abundant glacial

erratic’s on the surface making it more difficult to observe fossils on the Millwood buttes. Most

of the few site visits to this property in 2011 were part of an initial field investigation into re-

opening the site of P.72.03.01, the largest short-necked plesiosaur in the CFDC collection to

date. However, no fossil specimens were collected from this site in 2011.

Site #2

This property is only accessible through a rugged bush-whacking one mile hike from

Site #3. Due to ongoing field work priorities at other sites, the CFDC did not visit this site at all

in 2011 and likewise, no new fossil discoveries were made there this year.

Site #3

This property is the same property where the first mosasaur discovery in Canada

occurred 77 years ago (Graham 2009). Today, the close proximity of this site to the town of

Morden and the open shale pit provide for a great site to take many public and school dig

programs. Many exciting discoveries have been made by children and families from this site in

recent years.

B.2011.01.03 – Hesperornis sp.

This specimen consists of a distal tibiotarsus recovered from the Pembina Member of the Pierre

Shale.

F.2011.01.03 – Xiphactinus sp.

This specimen consists of one poor to fairly preserved single maxillary jaw recovered from the

Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale.

F.2011.02.03 – Cimolichthyes nepaholica

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This specimen consists of a large, poor to fairly preserved skull, vertebrae, and pectoral fin of

the common fish Cimolichthyes. Preliminary field measurements of the skull indicate that this

individual is large for the genus. The specimen was collected from the Pembina Member of the

Pierre Shale and currently awaits laboratory preparation.

S.2011.01.03 – Squalicorax sp.

This specimen is composed of one single maxillary tooth recovered from the Pembina Member

of the Pierre Shale.

Site #4

This site is a former bentonite mine property where most of the Pembina Member of the

Pierre Shale has been stripped or mined away. However, the lower shale horizons of the

Pembina Member are in place, and the open expanse of the shale pit permits a large number of

people, which makes this site good for large school and public dig programs.

However, the CFDC encountered the following two challenges at this site early in the

2011 field season which resulted in no fossils being collected from this property in 2011:

1.) A mosasaur skeleton which had been discovered was poached and stolen one night

during its excavation. The fossil skeleton was in-place during a school dig program

on Tuesday, May 17th

, 2011 and when the CFDC returned to the site on Friday, May

20th

, 2011 it was observed and documented that the specimen has been stolen. All

large individual fossils such as the vertebrae had been completely removed from the

site, and the few remaining rib fragments had been broken into non-collectable

debris. The CFDC notified the landowner, who then encouraged us to notify the

RCMP. A formal report was made to the RCMP Morden office the following

Monday with no suspects and the material has not since been recovered.

2.) The landowner passed away suddenly Friday, June 10, 2011. The CFDC was

notified the following Monday and immediately ceased all field work and dig

programs at this site until such time as would be appropriate to discuss the

continuation of paleontological field work by the new landowner(s). The CFDC

President, Curator, and Assistant Curator attended the ‘Celebration of Life’

memorial service, but has not yet learned who the new landowner is and thus did

not return to the property again in 2011.

Site #5

The CFDC Fossil Crew did not conduct any visits to this site in 2011, and as such, no

fossils were discovered or collected.

Site #6

26

While this site was active on MB Heritage Permit A09-11, no site visits were made by

the CFDC during the 2011 Field Season due to time restraints and other significant discoveries

requiring attention at other sites.

Site #7

While this site was active on MB Heritage Permit A09-11, no site visits were made by

the CFDC during the 2011 Field Season due to time restraints and other significant discoveries

requiring attention at other sites.

Site #8

While this site was active on MB Heritage Permit A09-11, no site visits were made by

the CFDC during the 2010 Field Season due to time restraints and other significant discoveries

requiring attention at other sites.

Site #9

Only two visits were made to this site by the CFDC in 2011, both of which were more

geological than paleontological. The CFDC Fossil Crew visited the site in June 2011 to map

the Ardmore bentonite succession at outcrops along Deadhorse Creek, and re-visited the site

again in August 2011 with the Manitoba Geological Survey to further document the same

bentonite sequences from the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale. No fossils were discovered

or collected from this site on either occasion.

Site #10

While this site was active on Heritage Permit A09-11, the CFDC was denied permission

to work on the property by the new landowner and thus did not make any visits to this site in

2011. A mosasaur specimen was previously discovered in a shale horizon of the Pembina

Member (Pierre Shale) while the property belonged to the previous landowner and to the best

of our knowledge, the fossil remains in-situ, awaiting future excavation once permission to

enter and excavate is granted by the new landowner.

Site #11

This site was formerly an active bentonite mine which today exhibits a roadside outcrop

of primarily the lower Pembina Member alternating bentonite/shale layers. This site was only

visited twice during the 2011 field season, and no fossil specimens were discovered or

collected.

Site #12

This property was formally an active bentonite mining pit which has since been

rehabilitated into farm land. The CFDC did not make any site visits to this property in 2011,

and likewise no fossils were discovered or collected from it.

27

Site #13

This site continued to be the most visited site by the CFDC for the second year in a row,

as new fossil specimens and stratigraphic framework continue to abound from this locality. The

Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale was discovered in the east bank of the ditch

in 2010, and was confirmed by the Manitoba Geological Survey to have the second thickest

exposure of this basal member of the Pierre Shale in the whole province (Bamburak and

Nicolas, 2010). Excavations resumed in 2011 with the goal of finding more of specimens

F.09.03.13 and M.09.01.13 which received so much public and media attention in 2010.

However, as CFDC staff worked the site to remove additional overburden, a new mosasaur was

discovered (M.2011.01.13) in the basal portion of the middle unit of the Gammon Ferruginous

Member within the same site. The CFDC ended up devoting most of the 2011 season to the

excavation of this new vertebrate fossil skeleton, which in turn had had many other fossil

specimens directly associated with it.

B.2011.01.13 – Hesperornis sp.

This specimen consists of only one large well-preserved vertebra, collected from the Upper

Unit of the Gammon Ferruginous Member (Pierre Shale).

B.2011.02.13 – Hesperornis sp.

This specimen is made up on one proximal femur, collected from the Middle Unit of the

Gammon Ferruginous Member (Pierre Shale).

B.2011.03.13 – Hesperornis sp.

This specimen consists of one large femur and one tarsometatarsus, both well-preserved, from

the Middle Unit of the Gammon Ferruginous Member (Pierre Shale).

B.2011.04.13 – Hesperornis sp.

This specimen consists of only one well-preserved vertebra, recovered from the Middle Unit of

the Gammon Ferruginous Member (Pierre Shale).

B.2011.05.13 – Baptornis sp.

This specimen is composed of the distal tarsometarsus, collected from the Middle Unit of the

Gammon Ferruginous Member (Pierre Shale).

B.2011.06.13 – Hesperornithiformes (Hesperornis or Baptornis)

This specimen consists of one well-preserved vertebra collected from the Middle Unit of the

Gammon Ferruginous Member (Pierre Shale). Unfortunately, it is impossible to identify

beyond the Order level at this time.

F.2011.01.13 – Cimolichthyes nepaholica

This specimen was recovered from the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale in the west bank

of the site, and consists of one incomplete but well-preserved caudal fin.

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F.2011.02.13 – Enchodus sp.

This specimen consists of one well-preserved jaw section with teeth. It was collected from the

Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale (unit undetermined).

F.2011.03.13 – Family Ichthyodectidae

This fossil fish skeleton was discovered late in the 2011 field season in the Upper Unit of the

Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale, in the west bank of the site. The specimen is

composed of dorsal vertebrae and ribs, which have been infused with selenite crystals making

laboratory preparation difficult. However, the stratigraphic occurrence of the taxon is

noteworthy as it is the first fossil fish skeleton documented from the Upper Unit of the

Gammon Ferruginous Member in southern Manitoba. More of this specimen remains in the

west bank, and plans are being made to resume its excavation in 2012.

M.2011.01.13 – Platecarpus sp.

This mosasaur specimen consists so far of the caudal portion of the axial skeleton, including

dorsal and caudal vertebrae, ribs, caudal chevrons, a humorous, and phalanges. The fossil

skeleton was recovered from the basal portion of the Middle Unit of the Gammon Ferruginous

Member of the Pierre Shale in the east bank of the site. At the end of the field season, the

specimen still continued back into the northeast corner of the quarry, and work is planned to

continue its excavation in 2012.

M.2011.02.13 – Family Mosasauridae

This specimen marks the first occurrence of the Family Mosasauridae from the Boyne Member

of the Carlile Formation in Manitoba. It was recovered from the Upper Chalky Unit of the

Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation in the east bank of the site, and consists chiefly of

well-preserved calcareous vertebrae. While the presence of this taxon is inferred in the greater

stratigraphic framework of the Manitoba Escarpment, it had not ever been documented in this

formation in Manitoba, thus making it a scientifically valuable specimen for biostratigraphy.

S.2011.01.13 – Order Chondrichthyes

This shark tooth was recovered from the Lower Unit of the Gammon Ferruginous Member of

the Pierre Shale in the east bank of the site. A Family or Genus level has not yet been

determined for this specimen.

U.2011.01.13 – Unidentified

This specimen displays characteristics which are attributable to the teuthids, such as the giant

squid Tusoteuthis longa, but also displays what appear to be tiny fish vertebrae, all congealed

into an unidentified matrix. It is possible that this specimen is a coprolite or even plesiosaur

vomitus, though at this time we are unable to assign it to any specific taxon. Also noteworthy,

the specimen was recovered from Lower Unit of the Gammon Ferruginous Member of the

Pierre Shale, at a geologically conformable outcrop in the east bank of the site, only 7

centimeters above the Carlile/Pierre Shale formational contact. This stratigraphic position

29

makes this specimen the earliest fossil from the Pierre Shale sequence in the entire Manitoba

Escarpment to date.

Site #14

The CFDC Fossil Crew made a few early season visits to this site which exhibits

primarily outcrops of the Pembina and Millwood Members of the Pierre Shale. However, no

fossil specimens were discovered or collected from this site during the 2011 Field Season. With

the death of the landowner (same as Site 4, above) occurring in early June, the CFDC did not

return to the site again in 2011, awaiting permission from the new landowner(s).

Site #15

This historically productive site remained wet and inaccessible during the first half of

the 2011 field season. As conditions dried out later, the CFDC only made a few short visits to

the site late in the season, but did not discover or collect any new fossils. The site of a former

bentonite mine, Pembina and Millwood sediments make up the bulk of outcrops in this locality,

with the Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale sparsely exposed in a ravine at the

eastern edge of the property, and the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation exposed deep in

the wooded lowlands around the property.

Site #16

The CFDC Field Team visited this site only once early in the 2011 Field Season. The

site was a former bentonite mine but today most of the exposure is that of the upper Millwood

Member crossing into the Odanah Member of the Pierre Shale. With the death of the landowner

(same as Site 4, above) occurring in early June, the CFDC did not return to the site again in

2011, awaiting permission from the new landowner(s).

Site #17

This site has been completed rehabilitated since the days of active bentonite mining and

as such, the CFDC did not make any site visits or collect any fossils from this locality in 2011.

Site #18

This site was a former bentonite mine which today exhibits a machine-induced mixing

of geology between the Pembina and Millwood Members of the Pierre Shale. While much of

the exposed Pembina sediments are no longer in-situ, the Millwood sediments appear to be

natural. This site was only visited twice during the 2011 Field Season, however no new fossil

material was discovered or collected on either occasion.

Site #19

While this site was active on MB Heritage Permit A09-11, only one attempted site visit

occurred. The Fossil Crew encountered ‘No Trespassing’ signs everywhere and limited

accessibility so no actual sites visits took place during the 2011 Field Season.

Site #20

30

The CFDC Field Crews made only a few visits to this site during the 2011 Field Season

with various public dig programs. Excavation of a stratigraphic section began in a roadcut

exhibiting Pembina Member lithology, but due to time constraints we were unable to complete

the stratigraphic measurements in 2011. Public programming resulted in one new fossil

discovery being made at this site in 2011.

F.2011.01.20 – Cimolichthyes nepaholica

This specimen consist of only the well-preserved tail fin of the common fish Cimolichthyes. It

was recovered from an undeterminable carbonaceous shale horizon in the middle to upper

portion of the Ardmore bentonite succession in the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale.

Site #21

This site was not active on MB Heritage Permit #A09-11 and thus no site visits were

made at all during the 2011 field season.

Site #22

This CFDC was unable to establish contact with the landowner of this site, and thus no

site visits were made by the CFDC in 2011.

Site #23

Public programming at this site led to two new fossil bird specimens being discovered

and collected in 2011.

B.2011.01.23 – Hesperornithiformes

This specimen consists of one proximal femur collected from the Millwood Member of the

Pierre Shale. Identification beyond the Order level is not possible due to the incomplete nature

of the fossil.

B.2011.02.23 – Hesperornis sp.

This specimen consists of only one distal tibiotarsus. Stratigraphic horizon was not recorded by

the volunteer who collected the specimen.

Site #26

The CFDC Field Team visited this site only once early in the 2011 Field Season.

The site was a former bentonite mine but today most of the exposure is that of the upper

Millwood Member crossing into the Odanah Member of the Pierre Shale. With the death of the

landowner (same as Site 4, above) occurring in early June, the CFDC did not return to the site

again in 2011, awaiting permission from the new landowner(s).

Site #27

31

While this site was active on MB Heritage Permit A09-11, no site visits were made by

the CFDC during the 2011 Field Season.

Site #28

While this site was active on MB Heritage Permit A09-11, no site visits were made by

the CFDC during the 2011 Field Season.

Site #29

While this site was active on MB Heritage Permit A09-11, no site visits were made by

the CFDC during the 2011 Field Season.

Site #30

This site borders the CFDC Property and served as a very fossiliferous location

to take many of the 1 and 2 day dig programs to search for fossils during the 2011 Field

Season.

M.2011.01.30 – Family Mosasauridae

This specimen consists of only one isolated skull bone, the parietal, which is poor to fairly

preserved. It was recovered from the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale.

Site #31

This site is new to the CFDC site list and consists largely of road-cut outcrop

exposure spanning the entirety of the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation and across the

Gammon Ferruginous Member and into the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale. The CFDC

Field Team made three research visits to this site during the 2011 Field Season, adding new

geological datum points and discovering new fossils from the Boyne Member of the Carlile

Formation.

F.2011.01.31 – Xiphactinus sp.

This specimen was discovered during an emergency post-season salvage operation of specimen

Q.2011.01.31 (below) in a roadside outcrop. Same day excavation into the night time hours

resulted in the recovery of a complete, well-preserved maxilla with teeth, pre-maxilla and other

jaw fragments and loose teeth. The specimen was recovered from one of the coquina layers in

the Upper Chalky Unit of the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation, and marks the first

documented occurrence of this taxon from the Boyne Member in Manitoba. The preservation is

excellent, and the CFDC plans to return to the site and continue excavation of this specimen in

2012.

I.2011.01.31 – Inocermus Clam Shell

This specimen was recovered from a coquina layer in the Upper Chalky Unit of the Boyne

Member of the Carlile Formation. Although it is an invertebrate and not part of the CFDC’s

32

mandate to collect, it serves as an excellent biostratigraphic marker, and this specimen is an

exemplary sample.

Q.2011.01.31 – Tusoteuthis longa

This specimen was collected by permission of Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture,

Heritage, and Tourism as an emergency salvage operation. The CFDC received notice from a

local resident that the fossil had been exposed by a road crew working along the road cut in

Snow Valley. Following up on the report, the CFDC was able to re-locate the fossil, contained

within a large block of calcareous shale belonging to the Boyne Member of the Carlile

Formation, after it had been pushed by earthmovers about 60 feet downslope off the side of a

road. The fossil was intact despite the earthwork activity, and split evenly into two halves. The

CFDC successfully recovered both halves of the specimen with considerable manpower, as the

Assistant Curator and a field volunteer heaved and pushed the fossil-bearing blocks back up the

60 foot incline to the roadway. To date, this specimen is the best preserved and most complete

Tusoteuthis specimen collected from the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation in Manitoba.

S.2011.01.31 – Class Chondrichthyes

This specimen consists of two fossil shark teeth (genus undetermined) from the Upper Chalky

Unit of the Boyne Member of the Carlile Formation.

Site 32

The CFDC has observed the Ardmore Bentonite Sequence of the Pembina Member

(Pierre Shale) in outcrop at this property from the public road, however was unable to gain

permission of the landowner to access the property in 2011. Therefore, no visits were made by

the CFD to this property, and no fossil were collected.

Site 33

Satellite imagery indicates Pierre Shale exposures abound at this locality, however was

unable to gain permission of the landowner to access the property in 2011. Therefore, no visits

were made by the CFDC to this property, and no fossil were collected.

Site 34

Satellite imagery also indicates Pierre Shale exposures abound at this locality, however

was unable to gain permission of the landowner to access the property in 2011. Therefore, no

visits were made by the CFDC to this property, and no fossil were collected.

Site 35

The CFDC made many visits to the two sections of this property in 2011 conducting

primarily geological investigations along the road cuts of the original Northern Pacific &

Manitoba Railway when track was laid in 1889 (Dawson, 2000). The line was later bought out

by Canadian Northern Railway, and again bought out by Canadian National before the track

33

was removed in 2007. Geological field work confirmed the presence of the Pembina and

Millwood Members of the Pierre Shale (see Figure 5) were present at this site, however despite

many hours of field work, most of the research was focused on historical and geological

components and as such, no vertebrate fossils were discovered or collected at this site in 2011.

It does remain possible, even likely, that fossils are present on this property and future field

work is recommended.

Recommendations Concerning Enforcement of the Manitoba Heritage Resources Act and

for the Provision of Paleontological Impact Assessment along the Manitoba Escarpment

As the CFDC grows physically, so should its role as the leading vertebrate

paleontological institution within the province. Fossil theft, poaching, and illegal collecting has

recently increased locally, possibly due in part to the CFDC’s recent success and high media

profile. However, despite our best efforts to post signage along with landowners to keep

trespassers out of private properties, the CFDC encountered numerous individuals conducting

their own fossil hunting activities at properties where the CFDC was given exclusive fossil

collecting privileges by the landowners. In at least one case, the CFDC lost an entire fossil

mosasaur skeleton from Site #4 in 2012 to thieves and vandals. The only response that the

CFDC could make was to make formal reports to the RCMP, the Historic Resources Branch of

Manitoba, Culture, Heritage and Tourism, the landowners, and Manitoba Conservation.

Although the above law enforcement bodies were informed, there was little that could be done

in response and typically the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and Manitoba Culture, Heritage,

and Tourism do not actively patrol within the CFDC’s principal investigation area and in most

cases, it the CFDC and/or the landowners who encounter the violators in the field. As the

CFDC lacks both the funding and the provincial authority to counter the illegal fossil collecting

and vandalism, it is a growing concern to professional paleontological researchers and to all

Manitobans to lose their fossil heritage to private collectors. I therefore recommend that a

Heritage Resources Act Enforcement Division be included into a branch of the Manitoba

34

Provincial Government. This recommendation is for the benefit of not only Manitobans, but for

the benefit of future generations of all Canadians in order to preserve Manitoba’s fossil

heritage. To assist in countering the illegal fossil collecting activity, the CFDC has met with

government officials to discuss ways to secure future fossil sites by taking new security

measures in the field that may assist the province with issuing substantial fines to violators of

the Heritage Resources Act. Additionally, one of the local Natural Resources Officers with

Manitoba Conservation has been provided a map with detailed information about the location

of CFDC fossil sites, and he has agreed to patrol the areas more frequently in the 2012 season

to assist in deterring and catching fossil poachers.

The CFDC is not merely a stagnant museum with stale exhibits; it is a living, breathing

institution of higher science. I therefore recommend increasing the range and scope of the

CFDC’s field work and funding to include all vertebrate fossil-bearing strata within the

province. While some of the strata are located in the traditional excavation areas of the Morden

and Miami area along the Manitoba escarpment, the entire escarpment itself has the potential

for vertebrate fossils to appear anywhere... from Pembina Mountain, to Riding Mountain, to

Duck Mountain. Our data sets are so far quite regional in scope, and there is much to be

discovered in all areas of the Escarpment. As such, it is the author’s professional opinion that

paleontological impact assessments should be required by the provincial government where

any earthwork or construction activities are planned to take place within any part of the

Cretaceous stratigraphic sequence of the Manitoba Escarpment. Additionally, as the town of

Morden sits atop the Favel and Carlile Formations (both Cretaceous shale with a high degree of

possibility that vertebrate fossils may exist), any major earthworks that occur in or around the

town of Morden (such as major pipeline excavation, etc.) should require a paleontological

impact assessment, with stipulations on construction regarding the discovery of heritage

objects.

General Recommendations

The public paleontology programs provided by the CFDC are unique within the

province, providing education to people of all ages. The continuation of these programs is

important not only to the museum and its research but also to the public. These programs

should all continue in 2012 and continue to grow and evolve throughout the new decade.

Collaborative research efforts with researchers from other institutions should continue

at the CFDC in 2012. This helps to promote the advancement of science along with interest of

our fossil heritage within the scientific community.

A recent increase in geological field work and research has led to new and exciting data

sets which can be applied to the larger geologic context of the vertebrate fossils housed at the

CFDC. Continuation of this geological framework is needed in 2012 and into the future. As

new specimens are discovered and field research continues at an exponential rate, solid

geologic data will be essential to the long term growth of the research and scientific

respectability at the CFDC.

35

One key recommendation is the continued manual excavation of vertebrate fossils from

the Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale. This fossils and the geological unit are

so unique that the site warrants serious consideration as a Provincial Geoheritage Site. Only

through the careful excavation of the site by selective manpower can the field data be

adequately obtained and fossils safely removed while also preserving the site for future

researchers.

Final Thoughts

Between the 2010 and 2011 field seasons I read a book titled Nothing Like it in the

World: The Building of the Transcontinental Railroad, by Stephen Ambrose. Through the

course of that very enjoyable book, I came to realize how much railway construction

techniques could be applied to vertebrate fossil excavation, and tried to employ some of those

methods during the 2011 season. I determined that railway construction tools and techniques

can be of great use to field paleontology. Figure 11 below shows a railway wheelbarrow/dump

truck device which could be made use of by the CFDC in the gorge between sites 3 and 13.

FIGURE 11 – Railway Wheel Barrow/Dump Truck. Such technology could be of considerable use to the CFDC field program in

the immediate future for overburden removal and fossil recovery.

Finally, it is of the author’s professional opinion that the three units of the Gammon

Ferruginous Member of the Pierre Shale is a lithological facies precursor to the

Pembina/Millwood Member Transition, also of the Pierre Shale.

36

FIGURE 12- Comparative Lithology of the Gammon Units with the Pembina/Millwood Member

Transition

Whereas the Lower Unit of the Gammon Ferruginous is comparable with the Ardomore

Bentonite Succession of the Lower Pembina Member, the Middle Unit of the Gammon

Ferruginous Member is comparable with the reddish upper Pembina Member, and the Upper

Unit if the Gammon Ferruginous is comparable with the lithology displayed in the Millwood

Member of the Pierre Shale. The Manitoba Escarpment tends to display lithological precursors,

as the Cretaceous Ashville Formation, Morden Shale, and Pembina Member are all very similar

non-calcareous, carbonaceous black shale which can be readily misidentified in the field

without a firm grasping of the geological situation. Such can also be true of the Gammon

Ferruginous and the Pembina/Millwood Transition. However, in such geological

foreshadowing, certain units tend to be far more fossilferrous than others. Thus, the Pembina

Member of the Pierre Shale is known to be highly fossiliferrous, while the Morden Shale is

considerably less abundant in fossils. Therefore in order to increase the odds of fossil

discovery, a researcher would want a firm grasp of the elevation profiles and subtleties of the

shale sequence in order to prospect in the correct zone of fossil productivity. At the same time,

discoveries in less-fossiliferrous units would most likely be of a higher scientific value as

potentially new taxa.

Acknowledgements

In no particular order, I would like to extend thanks to the following people and

organizations which helped make the 2011 field season a great success: Anita-Maria Janzic,

Tyler Schroeder, Joe Brown, Colleen Kyle, Trevor Fehr, Matthew Duda, Shawnee Holmes,

Lisa Burnett, Katie Magotiaux, Ted Nelson, Danyell Maloney, Linda Scott, Tanya Carlson,

37

Ron Laverty, Jim Bamburak and Michelle Nicolas at the Manitoba Geological Survey, Dr.

John Hoganson at the North Dakota Geological Survey, Travis Long at the Boundary Trails

Railway Company, Derrick Connelly at Manitoba Conservation, The Miami Railway Museum,

Jean Spencer, Vince Hink, Don Orchard, and Jim Roberts.

References

Adelman, J. 2007. The Cretaceous Lithofacies of the Pembina Member (Pierre Shale Formation) of

Southwestern Manitoba. B.Sc. Thesis, University of Winnipeg, 99 pp.

Aldersley, M.F., J.D. Bamburak, P.C. Joshi, J. Thompson, J.W. Delano, and J.P. Ferris. 2001.

Evaluation of Manitoba bentonites in the catalysis of RNA synthesis by montmorillonite (parts of NTS

62G1, 8, 10, K3, N1); in Report of Activities 2011, Manitoba Innovation, Energy and Mines, Manitoba

Geological Survey, p. 150-157.

Bamburak, J.D. and M.P.B. Nicolas. 2010. Gammon Ferruginous Member of the Cretaceous Pierre

Shale in southwestern Manitoba: distribution and mineral potential (parts of NTS 62F, G, J, K, N, O,

63C); in Report of Activities 2010, Manitoba Innovation, Energy and Mines, Manitoba Geological

Survey, p. 170 – 177.

Bamburak, J.D. and M.P.B. Nicolas. 2009. Current Status of the Cretaceous Stratigraphic

Nomenclature of Southwestern Manitoba. Proceedings Volume and Field Trip Manual, 2nd

Manitoba

Paleontology Symposium. Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, pp. 10-11.

Bamburak, J.D. and A. Janzic. 2007. Mesozoic Stratigraphy of the Manitoba Escarpment (Pembina

Mountain). Manitoba Paleontology Seminar, Abstracts and Field Manual. Canadian Fossil Discovery

Centre, 34 p.

Bannatyne, B.B. 1970. The clays and shales of Manitoba; Manitoba Department of Mines and Natural

Resources, Mines Branch, Publication 67-1, 107p.

Bertog, J., W. Huff, and J.E. Martin. 2007. Geochemical and mineralogical recognition of the bentonites

in the lower Pierre Shale Group and their use in regional stratigraphic correlation; in Martin, J.E. and

Parris, D.C., eds., The Geology and Paleontology of the Late Cretaceous Marine Deposits of the

Dakotas. Geological Society of America Special Paper 427, p. 23-50.

Carpenter, K. 2006. Comparative Vertebrate Taphonomy of the Pembina and Sharon Springs Members

(Middle Campanian) of the Pierre Shale, Western Interior. Paludicola 5(4): 125-149.

Cuthbertson, R.S., J.C. Mallon, and N.E. Campione. 2007. A New Species of Mosasaur (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Pierre Shale (lower Campanian) of Manitoba. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 44: 593-606.

Dawson, A. 2000. I’ve Been Working on the Railroad: A History of the Miami Subdivision Railway Line. Miami Millennium Historic Train Trek, pp. 1-24.

Duda, M. and J. Hatcher. 2011. Trains, Fossils, and Steam Shovels: Construction of Railways and the Discovery of Fossils along the Manitoba Escarpment in the Late Nineteenth Century. Third Manitoba Palaeontology Symposium, Proceedings and Field Trip Manual, Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, Morden, Manitoba, pp. 6-10.

Everhart, M. J. and P. Everhart. 1992. Oyster-shell concentrations; a stratigraphic marker in the

Smoky Hill Chalk (upper Cretaceous) of western Kansas. Kansas Academy of Science,

Transactions, 11(Abstracts):12.

38

Feldmann, R.M., R. Li, and C.E. Schweitzer. 2007. A new family, genus, and species of crab

(Crustacea, Decapoda, Brachyura) from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian) of Manitoba, Canada.

Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 44: 1741–1752.

Graham, R.J. 2009. 75th Anniversary of the First Mosasaur Discovery in Manitoba. Proceedings Volume

and Field Trip Manual, 2nd

Manitoba Paleontology Symposium. Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, p.

13.

Hatcher, J. 2011. Palynostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Pierre Shale (Pembina Member) across the

Manitoba/North Dakota Border. Third Manitoba Palaeontology Symposium, Proceedings and Field Trip

Manual, Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre, Morden, Manitoba, pp. 10-13.

Hicks, J.F., J.D. Obradovich, and L. Tauxe. 1999. Magnetostratigraphy, isotopic age calibration and

Intercontinental correlation of the Red Bird section of the Pierre Shale, Niobrara County, Wyoming,

USA. Cretaceous Research, 20, pp. 1-27.

McNeil, D.H. and W.G.E. Caldwell. 1981. Cretaceous rocks and their Foraminifera in the Manitoba

Escarpment. Geological Association of Canada Special Paper, 21: 1-439.

Mitchell, R.N. 2007. Late Cretaceous Paleomagnetic Pole for North America from the Pierre Shale:

Implications for Baja-British Columbia and True Polar Wander. B.A. Thesis, Carleton College,

Northfield, Minnesota, 51 pp.

Nicholls, E.L. 1988. Marine Vertebrates of the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale (Campanian, Upper

Cretaceous) of Manitoba and their Significance to the Biogeography of the Western Interior Seaway.

Ph.D. Thesis, University of Calgary, 317 p.

The Sun sets on the 2011 Field Season

39

APPENDIX “A”

May 19, 2011

LYME DISEASE UPDATE

– – –

Blacklegged Tick Population Established in South-central Manitoba

Manitoba Health advises that more blacklegged tick populations have been identified in Manitoba. Blacklegged

ticks can carry the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

In addition to the southeast corner of Manitoba, the area around the Stanley Trail in south-central Manitoba is now

confirmed to have an established blacklegged tick population. Surveillance findings suggest the population may

stretch from the trailhead at roads 27W and 2N in the south to Deerwood in the north and including Stanley Park.

Over one-third of the blacklegged ticks tested from this area carried the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. In the

past, there have been two reported Lyme disease cases in humans with tick exposure near the Stanley Trail.

Surveillance also indicates that blacklegged ticks may have become established in the Pembina Valley. Ticks have

been identified along the Pembina River Valley at the Pembina Valley Provincial Park near the U.S. border and at

Road 22N (north of La Rivière). As well, blacklegged ticks may have become established in Beaudry Provincial

Park just west of Headingley. More surveillance in these areas is planned for this summer and fall.

Blacklegged ticks were likely introduced to these areas by migratory birds which perch and rest in forested areas.

These wooded areas also provide suitable habitat for blacklegged ticks. The agricultural lands surrounding these

areas are unlikely to support many ticks.

Manitoba Health reminds Manitobans to take the following precautions to reduce the risk of coming into contact

with blacklegged ticks while enjoying the outdoors:

limit contact with tall grass or other vegetation along wooded areas and stay to the centre of hiking trails or

paths;

wear light-coloured clothing to make it easier to see ticks that may be on skin or clothing;

wear long pants and a long-sleeved shirt in tall-grass habitats or wooded areas where ticks are most

commonly found;

tuck a shirt into pants and pants into socks to prevent ticks from attaching to the skin;

apply an appropriate repellent (it should say “tick repellent” on the container) on clothing and exposed skin

after reading and following instructions for use;

inspect yourself, children and pets for ticks and remove them as soon as possible; and

keep grass well mowed to help reduce the amount of habitat suitable for ticks.

Symptoms of Lyme disease can start about three days to one month after a tick bite, often with an expanding

circular rash around the site of the bite which then fades. Early symptoms can also include headache, stiff neck,

fever, muscle aches or fatigue, fever, chills and swollen lymph nodes. People who think they may have Lyme

disease should see their doctor. Lyme disease can be successfully treated with antibiotics. Treatment is most

successful in the early stages of infection.

At this time, no cases of Lyme disease have been reported in Manitoba in 2011. In 2010, Manitoba had six

confirmed case of Lyme disease and six probable cases. Four additional reports not meeting the national

40

surveillance case definition were also received. The definition for confirmed and probable cases for surveillance

purposes is more stringent than clinical criteria used by physicians to consider treatment for Lyme disease.

Blacklegged ticks have been found throughout southern Manitoba and occasionally in the north. The ticks are

thought to be deposited annually by birds. A low risk of exposure to blacklegged ticks is present in Manitoba.

Approximately 300 blacklegged ticks were submitted in 2010 in the fall tick submission campaign.

Areas with established populations of blacklegged ticks have a greater risk of tick exposure. Established

blacklegged tick populations are present in the southeast corner and in the Stanley Trail area of the province.

Investigations into other areas of southern Manitoba are occurring.

More information on Lyme disease is available at the Manitoba Health website at www.gov.mb.ca/health/lyme or by

contacting Health Links-Info Santé at 788-8200 (in Winnipeg) or at 1-888-315-9257 (toll-free).

- 30 -

41

CANADIAN FOSSIL DISCOVERY CENTRE INC.

DRAFT Financial Statements

Year Ended December 31, 2011

Reviewed by

6, 2012 9:51 PM

Completed by

Printed: April 1

42

ATEMENTS

Financial Position 3

Revenues and Expenditures 4

Changes in Net Assets 5

e (Schedule 1) 6

CANADIAN FOSSIL DISCOVERY CENTRE INC.

Index to Financial Statements

Year Ended December 31, 2011

Page

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT 1 - 2

FINANCIAL ST

Statement of

Statement of

Statement of

Schedule On

43

6, 2012 9:51 PM

Printed: April 1

44

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT

s of Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre Inc.

ed the accompanying financial statements of Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre Inc., which tatement of financial position as at December 31, 2011, and the statements of revenues es and changes in net assets for the year then ended, and a summary of significant cies and other explanatory information.

Responsibility for the Financial Statements s responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in th Canadian generally accepted accounting principles, and for such internal control as etermines is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from tement, whether due to fraud or error.

onsibility lity is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit. We

audit in accordance with Canadian generally accepted auditing standards. Those uire that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform the audit to obtain urance about whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.

es performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in

tatements. The procedures selected depend on the auditor's judgment, including the the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or

ng those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity's d fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are he circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of rnal control. An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies easonableness of accounting estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the ation of the financial statements.

t the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for n.

(continues) 6, 2012 9:51 PM

1

To the Member

We have audit comprise the s and expenditur accounting poli

Management's

Management i accordance wi management d material missta

Auditor's Resp

Our responsibi conducted our standards req reasonable ass

An audit involv the financial s assessment of error. In maki preparation an appropriate in t the entity's inte used and the r overall present

We believe tha our audit opinio

Printed: April 1

45

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS

6, 2012 9:51 PM Prep ________ Added ________ Approved _______

2

Independent Auditor's Report to the Members of Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre Inc. (continued)

Opinion

In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre Inc. as at December 31, 2011, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles.

Morden, MB April 16, 2012

Printed: April 1

CANADIAN FOSSIL DISCOVERY CENTRE INC.

Statement of Financial Position

December 31, 2011

subsidies receivable 16,459 -

37,382 20,824

ETS (Net of accumulated amortization) 42,880 43,673

$ 80,262 $ 64,497

ND NET ASSETS

ayable $ 348 $ 943 ion of long term debt 7,558 7,267 ales tax payable 28 37 able - 3,108

7,934 11,355

DEBT 27,440 34,993

COME / REVENUE 16,459 20,508

51,833 66,856

28,429 (2,359)

$ 80,262 $ 64,497

F THE BOARD

___________________ Director

___________________ Director

6, 2012 9:51 PM Prep ________ Added ________ Approved _______

3

2011

2010

ASSETS

CURRENT Cash

$ 15,752

$ 13,922

Accounts receivable 800 - Inventory 4,338 5,615 GST payable (receivable) Grants and

33 1,287

CAPITAL ASS

LIABILITIES A

CURRENT Accounts p Current port Provincial s Wages pay

LONG TERM

DEFERRED IN

NET ASSETS

ON BEHALF O

Printed: April 1

CANADIAN FOSSIL DISCOVERY CENTRE INC.

Statement of Revenues and Expenditures

Year Ended December 31, 2011

er - 24,797 28,330 - 20,159 21,401

vincial - 19,881 7,547 and other - 7,322 8,340

- 4,097 10,860 - 2,455 3,100

- 309,681 273,986

and promotion - 11,881 14,269 n - 793 1,208 dues - 819 889

se - - 1,402 d exhibits - 850 7,017

- 11,890 5,206

- 8,690 8,580 bank charges - 1,099 2,371

ong term debt - 1,558 2,132 supplies - 15,539 1,420 us - 12,381 848 m project - - 1,964

miscellaneous - 7,886 9,959 l fees - 8,892 5,925

- 6,605 11,866

maintenance - 2,471 1,877 d benefits - 174,789 179,453

- 3,001 2,913 nses - 694 2,047 property taxes - 700 5,686

- 8,355 896

- 278,893 267,928 EVENUES OVER EXPENSES $ - $ 30,788 $ 6,058

6, 2012 9:51 PM Prep ________ Added ________ Approved _______

4

Budget

2011 2011 2010

REVENUES

Grants - municipal $ - $ 127,896 $ 130,896 Grants - federal - 47,378 14,489 Programs - 27,957 21,940 Admissions and memberships - 27,739 27,083 Grants - oth Gift shop Grants - pro Fundraising Donations Rentals

EXPENSES Advertising Amortizatio Association GST expen Galleries an Gift shop Insurance Interest and Interest on l Laboratory Miscellaneo New museu Office and Professiona Programs Repairs and Salaries an Telephone Travel expe Utilities and Vehicle

EXCESS OF R

Printed: April 1

CANADIAN FOSSIL DISCOVERY CENTRE INC.

6, 2012 9:51 PM Prep ________ Added ________ Approved _______

5

Statement of Changes in Net Assets

Year Ended December 31, 2011

2011

2010

NET ASSETS - BEGINNING OF YEAR

$ (2,359)

$ (8,417)

Excess of revenues over expenses 30,788 6,058 NET ASSETS - END OF YEAR

$ 28,429

$ (2,359)

Printed: Ap