Petrified Forest National Park

Arizona's Petrified National Forest is famous for its expansive vistas—stark moon-like landscapes and the colorful eroding badlands of the Painted Desert—and the rainbow hues of large petrified trees found throughout the park. Once a lush landscape of trees and riverways, the park now offers unparalleled opportunities for scientific research and one-of-a-kind experiences for more than 630,000 visitors each year.

Expanding The Petrified Forest

For more than a century, the federal government has played a lead role in conserving the Petrified Forest.  As a popular destination for Americans for generations, it may come as a surprise that not all of the land in and around the park is saved for public enjoyment.  That's why we helped the National Park Service add 26,000 acres to the park in 2011, expanding it by roughly a quarter.

The 26,000 acres of acquired lands previously were privately owned and managed as ranchland by the Hatch Family Partnership. These lands now connect areas already managed by the State of Arizona and National Park Service. This acquisition helps ensure that the park continues to provide significant economic benefits to local communities and businesses through tourism.

A Treasure Trove Of Fossils: Petrified Forest As A Laboratory

While most noted for its petrified trees, the park also is known as a Late Triassic treasure trove and has evidence of ancient human settlements. Because these lands were previously privately owned, and therefore off-limits to collecting, their addition to the park offers paleontologists and archaeologists important new access to an area of the Puerco River valley.

"The potential for notable paleontological discoveries on the new property far surpasses much of what is in the existing park boundaries," said paleontologist Bill Parker.  In other areas of the park, fossil hunters have turned up over a thousand specimens—including, in the 1980s, Gertie, thought to be a 250-million-year-old Staurikosaur. "What we learn from these fossil deposits may dramatically increase our knowledge of life during the Triassic Period in Earth's history."

The new lands also will offer opportunities to explore new cultural archaeological sites. Park archaeologist Bill Reitze notes, "Preliminary surveys of the new property have shown potential for a number of archaeological sites including large, early basketmaker villages and phenomenal petroglyph sites. Acquisition of this land may significantly enhance our knowledge of early peoples of the area."

"We’re basically a laboratory, " says Parker. "We have the exposed rock layers, we have the fossils, and we have the logistical support that scientists need to do their work successfully. We guide them through the process, getting permits, etc., to make it possible. Even more than that, we are a scientific collaborator."

History Of The Park

In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt used his authority, provided by the Antiquities Act, to establish Petrified Forest National Monument to protect the area’s mineralized trees, fossils and archeological resources from commercial exploitation, illegal collecting and vandalism.

In 1962, Congress designated the area as a National Park and in 2004, the Arizona Congressional delegation championed the passage of boundary expansion legislation authorizing the potential expansion of the park from 93,353 acres to 218,533 acres. The Fund's addition to the park was made possible because of this legislation. Additional acres could be added in the future.

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Photos: DrLandscape/Flickr (top); National Park Service (center, bottom)