Parks Canada recovers 45 fossils stolen from BC’s Burgess Shale, levies $20,000 fine

by


Officials say that search recovered 45 fossils, which were identified by an expert from the Royal Ontario Museum as originating from sites in Yoho, Kootenay and Jasper national parks.

A Royal Ontario Museum fieldwork crew are seen extracting a shale slab containing a fossil of Titanokorys gainesi in the mountains of Kootenay National Park, BC
A Royal Ontario Museum fieldwork crew are seen extracting a shale slab containing a fossil of Titanokorys gainesi in the mountains of Kootenay National Park, BC Photo by Jean-Bernard Caron /HO/The Canadian Press

LAKE LOUISE — A Quebec resident has been fined $20,000 for taking 45 fossils from three national parks in the Rocky Mountains, including an internationally known fossil site.

Parks Canada says in a news release that park wardens in Lake Louise, Alta., received a tip in 2020 from a member of the public about fossils being removed from the Burgess Shale, a significant fossil site.

An investigation that summer and fall led to a search warrant by Quebec wardens and police at a home in the Montreal area in November 2020.

Officials say that search recovered 45 fossils, which were identified by an expert from the Royal Ontario Museum as originating from sites in Yoho, Kootenay and Jasper national parks.

One Burgess Shale site is near BC's Marble Canyon shown here.
One Burgess Shale site is near BC’s Marble Canyon shown here. Photo by Jean-Bernard Caron – ROM Files

They say most of the fossils came from the Burgess Shale Marble Canyon Quarry, an area not accessible to the public, in Kootenay National Park in BC

The individual, whom Parks Canada has not identified, pleaded guilty to two charges in a Cranbrook court last month and was required to return the fossils, pay the fine and serve a five-month conditional sentence that includes a curfew.

“This is the largest fine that has been levied to date for the removal of fossils from the Burgess Shale and demonstrates the seriousness of the offense and the importance of this site,” Parks Canada said Thursday in a news release.

The Burgess Shale is widely known as one of the most significant fossil sites in the world. It contains fossil evidence of some of the earliest animals that existed in the oceans more than 505 million years ago and was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1980.

A fossil site near Stanley Glacier in Kootenay National Park was found in 1989 by researchers with the Royal Ontario Museum.

The Marble Canyon quarry was discovered in 2012 and more than 10,000 specimens have been recovered from that site by researchers.

— By Colette Derworiz in Calgary


Leave a Comment