Eastern Chula Vista is a “gold mine,” says Tom Deméré, paleontologist with the San Diego Natural History Museum. “This region is rich with fossil remains of vertebrates, invertebrates and plants from the Cenozoic era.”

A new neighborhood park opening this month in EastLake features a permanent exhibit with interpretive displays of some of the ancient critters that once grazed the area, including the pig-like Mesorodont, rhino-relative Subyracodon and saber-tooth carnivore Nimravus.

A dedication will be held at the park on King Creek Circle in EastLake Trails, on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 1 to 3 p.m. Activities and refreshments will be provided, and The EastLake Company, developer of the 3,500-acre master-planned community, will contribute $500 to the educational department at the San Diego Natural History Museum.

At the free public event, paleontologists and scientists from the San Diego Natural History Museum will provide an up-close look at some of the fossil remains found in the area. Kids and adults alike can try their hand at fossil arts-and-crafts or dive into the “dino-dung dig” hands-on display.

Deméré and museum staff members have been digging up fossils in EastLake since construction began on the 15-year-old community in the early 1980s. Ancient river deposits in the area have produced the largest and most diverse assemblage of 29 to 30 million-year-old Oligocene-age reptiles, birds and land mammals ever found in California.

Many of these fossils are the remains of mammals, including extinct species of hedgehogs, rodents, dogs, rhinoceros, chevrotain, camels and oreodonts that roamed the area millions of years ago.

The fossils found at EastLake are kept at the museum for study and exhibition, and some have been sent to other museums or universities for a closer look.

In recent months, staff from the Museum’s Paleontology Department have made several significant fossil finds in the eastern Chula Vista area – unearthing two baleen whale skeletons and partial remains of a walrus.

Deméré said thousands of fossils have been dug up and many more are expected to be found as new home and commercial construction continues in the South County region.

The City of Chula Vista, for instance, requires that environmental impact reports include a provision for the possible discovery of fossils on real estate development sites. This is where Demere and his museum staff step in and work with developers to assess a site for paleontological resources.

“It is exciting to work with the museum to dig up information about our history and know that fossils found here are being used to promote a better understanding of the local environment,” said Bill Ostrem, president and CEO of The EastLake Company.

The San Diego Natural History Museum’s Department of Paleontological Services is the only San Diego-based consulting group specializing in the collection, salvage, preparation and curation of fossils from development sites.

The paleontology department houses collections of more than 77,800 species. These have been recovered from 2,890 sites, primarily from Southern California and northern Baja California, Mexico.

“Our region has a natural history that extends back millions of years and encompasses many past physical stages and biological players, from prehistoric mosasaurs and saber-toothed cats to today’s condors and big horn sheep,” said Deméré, who has served as curator of paleontology at the museum since 1994.

For more information about the San Diego Natural History Museum and its Department of Paleontological Services, call (619) 232-3821.

EastLake has been voted the Best New Home Community in San Diego County for five consecutive years. New homes are now for sale in the master-planned community that features neighborhood parks, local schools and an abundance of recreational facilities.

To visit, take I-805 to Telegraph Canyon Road and go east. Follow the signs to EastLake and the HomeFinding Center.

For information, call the EastLake HomeFinding Center at (619) 421-3111 or log on to www.eastlake.net.