Anticosti added to UNESCO World Heritage

[Denis Arcand]

Anticosti Island and its numerous fossils were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List on Tuesday. This is the third place in Quebec, after the historic district of Old Quebec and Miguasha National Park, to be added to this list of unique sites in the world.

 

Anticosti has more than 1,440 species of fossils that attract researchers from all over the world. The study of these fossils has demonstrated that changes in climate and sea level caused the extinction of almost all ocean life on the planet at the end of the Ordovician period (between 447 and 437 million years ago).

 

[Kane]

Effectively closing the door to all amateur collectors. 

[FossilNerd]

I feel a dichotomy of emotions. Happy that the site will be protected for future generations and (hopefully) more scientific study, but sad that it will be closed off to amateur collectors like myself. 

[rocket]

is the site limited that it was necessary to protect against collecting? Never been there. I have the opinion that it is necessary to protect small and limited places like Grube Messel, but hugher site with material for thousands of years I never understood why sites become forbidden to dig. 

How is it at Anticosti island?

thanks 

[Kane]

Anticosti has over 550 km of coastline. The protections will not apply to the waves that erode anything fallen from the cliffs each year.  

Legislatively, it is easier to ban everything than to carve out exceptions. Very few collectors would visit each year on account of the high costs in getting there, and how remote it is.