Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park is famous for its stark, moon-like vistas, the colorful eroding badlands of the Painted Desert and the rainbow hues of large fallen trees that have turned to stone over the last 225 million years. Once a lush landscape of trees and rivers, the park now offers unparalleled opportunities for scientific research and one-of-a-kind experiences for hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Because the Petrified Forest has been a popular destination for generations of Americans, it may come as a surprise that not all of the land in and around the park is saved for public enjoyment. The Conservation Fund has helped expand the national park by 25% — and we’re not stopping there.

Our Efforts

In 2011 we helped the National Park Service (NPS) add 26,000 acres to Petrified Forest National Park. The lands, which were previously privately owned and managed as ranchland by the Hatch Family Partnership, now connect areas already managed by the state of Arizona and the NPS.

Working with the National Parks Conservation Association, we purchased 4,200 acres in January 2013. The park service then utilized the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund — America’s premier conservation program — to acquire the property at the end of that year. Known as the McCauley Ranch, the property lies east of the historic remains of Puerco Pueblo and will connect lands already protected within the park.

During the summer of 2013, researchers unearthed a well preserved, two-foot-long skull of a phytosaur, a distant ancestor of the modern crocodile, on the McCauley Ranch property. They also uncovered a new find for Petrified Forest National Park, the remains of a Doswellia, a close relative of the phytosaur. A rich layer of fossil material was identified below the bones that could be the bottom of an ancient pond. Continued excavation will help to determine the pond’s ecosystem and identify the kinds of prehistoric fish, amphibians, reptiles and plants that once lived there.

Why This Project Matters

Our work at Petrified Forest National Park helps ensure that the park continues to provide significant economic benefits to local communities and businesses through tourism. It also secures many fossil-producing sites that have already proven to be ideal locations for exciting new paleontological discoveries.