Parks Stewardship Forum

Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO) was established to preserve fossils from the Triassic Period. After long relying solely on external partners, an internal program was established consisting of permanent staff and appropriate facilities to manage these extensive resources, primarily through active collection and curation. Goals based on National Park Service (NPS) policies allow managers to guide internal research priorities and those of external partners, more effectively reducing repetitive studies and increasing collaborations. Student interns play a crucial part of this effort, and many have gone on to establish or augment paleontology programs at other institutions and federal agencies, developing new partnerships with the NPS. PEFO permanent staff grew as park and regional management recognized the utility of the program. PEFO staff collaboratively develop new collecting and laboratory processing techniques that preserve high quality data, including a public laboratory where visitors watch the conservation of fossil resources in real time, bettering public understanding while simultaneously furthering research goals. This program has published nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications over the last 20 years, highlighting Petrified Forest as one of the best places on Earth to learn about and understand the Triassic Period, and providing an example for other NPS units on how to best protect and promote fossil resources.