Arizona

The Grand Canyon is one of America's favorite destinations—more than five million people visit each year to take in the breathtaking views of this iconic landscape. It's also the location of the Fund's biggest land conservation project—in terms of acres—in our history.

The land conservation successes along the North Rim are great examples of how saving land isn't always about simply buying it and setting it aside. Successful conservation often requires bringing multiple groups together to determine long-term preservation goals.

Kane and Two Mile Ranches

Although much of the land along the giant crevasse of the north rim of the Grand Canyon has been protected, huge parcels of land here are still vulnerable to subdivision, development and drought. That was the case with the privately owned Kane and Two Mile ranches, an expansive inholding that connected three national monuments, two national recreation areas and eight wilderness areas. The ranches spanned just over 1,200 acres and controlled grazing permits across nearly 900,000 acres of adjacent federal lands.

We knew that for conservation to last here, we needed not only to preserve the region’s wildlife habitat and striking scenery but its ranching heritage as well. So, we partnered with the Grand Canyon Trust to purchase the Kane and Two Mile ranches, within view of Arizona’s famed Vermilion Cliffs. Together with the Trust, we created North Rim Ranch LLC to own and run the ranches and hired a third-generation rancher to oversee the operation.

But there's more: Decades of grazing operations had taken their toll on the area’s most sensitive lands. We brought together neighboring ranchers, public agencies and tribal officials to develop a management plan for the property. The goal is to reduce grazing pressures on sensitive lands, restore critical wildlife habitat and maintain part of the land as a traditional cattle ranch. The groups also convened a science advisory council to assess the grazing allotments associated with the ranches, which will help land managers conserve and protect the fragile landscape.

Funding to support the effort was provided by the Richard King Mellon Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through its partnership with Wal-Mart and the Acres for America program.

Parashant National Monument

Located on the northern rim of the Grand Canyon, the Parashant National Monument is a marvelous testament to the power of nature, providing visitors with a view of 150 miles of deep canyons, rugged mountains and isolated buttes. Again with support from the Richard King Mellon Foundation, we worked with the willing owners and ranching families of the Bar Ten Ranch and Pakoon Springs to safeguard 640 acres as an addition to the monument. The arrangement also retired more than 75,000 acres of unproductive public land grazing leases, which effectively protects more than 90,000 acres of inholdings administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

With these conservation projects, future visitors to the North Rim are guaranteed an uninterrupted, expansive view that can only be seen at the Grand Canyon. That's a conservation success story worth celebrating!

Photos: Courtesy Grand Canyon Trust (top); R Scott Jones/Flickr (bottom).

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)

The Fund added 26,000 acres to Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park in 2011. Take a tour of this unique and amazing landscape and learn about the park, the petrified wood that gave it its name and the fossils and archaeological sites that are teaching us about the history of the Earth and its early civilizations.

Learn more about our work expanding the Petrified Forest National Park here.

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  Petrified Forest
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  Petrified Forest Landscape
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  Petrified Wood
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  Petrified Logs
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  Park History
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  A Natural Laboratory
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  Fossil Evidence Of Freshwater
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  Expansion Property
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  Petroglyphs
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  Painted Desert

All information and text are courtesy of National Park Service. For more information including educational materials and videos, visit the park's website.

We've helped expanded dozens of national and state parks across the country. Read more about our work and find out if we've helped protect a part near you.