Rich McCrea and dig team prepare to remove BC's first dinosaur from sediment bed.

The three major projects undertaken by the Tumbler Ridge Museum Foundation (TRMF) have met their combined $72,000 budget targets, thanks to the support of local and provincial sponsors.

The most recent contribution was an $11,000 project grant under the "Living Landscapes: Peace River – Northern Rockies" program, sponsored by the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. Of that, $6000 will fund the skeletal excavation of BC’s first dinosaur, a project which began only days ago under the direction of Rich McCrea from the University of Alberta. The site, located on a canyon floor, has been cleared, and equipment lowered by helicopter, in preparation for the removal of bones.

The remaining $5000 will go to the TRMF’s other project - Dino Camps - a joint partnership with Northern Lights College. This six-week pilot project allows 60 children the opportunity to experience palaeontology through a combination of class and field activities, under the direction of U of A student Marisa Gilbert. The 2003 camps are sold out and waiting lists have been established.

The TRMF will one day establish a sponsor recognition program, which will include floor or wall
displays in the museum itself. Sponsor levels 1, 2 and 3, which have yet to be named, are determined by the amount of contribution, either in kind or in real money.

Level 1 sponsors are those that have contributed $1000 to $5000. They are Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC), Sci-Tech North, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL) and Dr. Charles Helm, local physician and author, who donated $3000 in book proceeds to the TRMF’s projects. 4-Way Equipment and House of Tools in Edmonton have assisted the project by way of in-kind equipment and tools valued at approximately $2000. Quintette Operating Corporation and Bullmoose Operating Corporation – both former employers in Tumbler Ridge – continue to donate miscellaneous tools and equipment. Bullmoose donated a large oak cabinet, which is now a display unit for fossil exhibits.

Level 2 - $5001 to $50,000 - sponsors include the Royal BC Museum, Chetwynd Forest Industries and the District of Tumbler Ridge, which allocated $12,000 for the creation of exhibit display units.

" Friends of the Museum" recognizes organizations and individuals whose contributions do not exceed $1000. Our "Friends" to date include Dawson Creek’s Reno Rotary Club and Sunshine Rotary Club, the BC Mining Association (Education Department), Eagle Geophysical and Waberski Darrow Survey Group and Dan’s Outdoor Accessories. The District of Hudson’s Hope is a partner in the Dino Camps, providing $1000 for a field trip to Hudson’s Hope, where the children will tour the local museum and the Peace Canyon and Bennett Dams.

The TRMF is a non-profit organization whose goal is to build and operate a museum in Tumbler Ridge. The success of the 2003 projects is crucial to future fundraising and the Board of Directors acknowledges with appreciation the individuals, organizations and corporations whose contributions have assured the successful launch of our 2003 projects.