egislation passed in the waning days of the 108th Congress has brought encouraging news to those interested in digging for natural resources in the newly expanded Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. No, it's not the drills and heavy machinery of oil companies that will be moving in, but the brushes and trowels of paleontologists and archaeologists looking to unearth fossils and artifacts that hold the secrets to our own natural and cultural history.
Scientists have long recognized that Petrified Forest National Park is a treasure trove of unique geological features, a sort of time capsule containing historical relics that might answer mysteries about the Earth's climate and biodiversity. Legislation that recently authorized expansion of the park from 97,000 acres to 225,000 acres will open an incredible new area to countless visitors, whether they're scientists peering through a magnifying glass or tourists looking through a camera lens.
Originally proclaimed a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and designated a national park in 1962, Petrified Forest was first set aside to preserve petrified wood, scenic landscapes of the Painted Desert, rare shortgrass prairie, and archaeological and historical sites that reflect a 10,000-year continuum of human history. But it soon became clear that the park and the land surrounding it comprised the world's richest repository for Triassic Period fossils - remains that may hold the secrets to the dawn of the dinosaurs.
Of the 128,000 acres included in the expansion, slightly more than half were privately owned; the remainder were in the hands of state and federal authorities. Most of this area was off-limits to scientists and archaeologists, meaning the only individuals with access were the landowners themselves and looters bold enough to trespass and make off with Indian artifacts and petrified wood.
"The discoveries made in this park in the last ten years are world-class, and we believe the additional lands will continue to increase this bounty of fossils, which have become a global standard for the time when dinosaurs originated in the late Triassic period," says David D. Gillette, Ph.D., Colbert Curator of Paleontology, Museum of Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. "This expansion represents a pristine opportunity for fieldwork, offering a unique environment for students and teachers in the earth sciences to get involved in excavations, geological mapping, and field sampling - all of the skills that are important in the field sciences."
What's more, the Society for American Archeology has said the park is national treasure, full of important sites that will contribute to our understanding of ancient Southwestern cultures, such as the tribal histories of the Hopi and Zuni people.
The movement to increase the park's size and scope lasted 12 years, and NPCA was a vital part of that effort. Much of the credit also goes to NPCA's members, who offered vital support through their donations, letters to the editor, and countless e-mails informing Congress of the importance of these lands.
