PETRIFIED FOREST, Ariz. - Petrified Forest National Park and Ischigualasto Provincial Park in Argentina formally became sister parks during a ceremony in Argentina on Aug. 1, 2023. The parks share similar paleontological, geological, biological, and archaeological resources.
The sister park arrangement between Ischigualasto, which is a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site, and Petrified Forest will promote cooperation through the exchange of professional and technical knowledge and through sharing lessons learned and best practices in the management and administration of both parks. Park teams will meet on an ongoing basis to discuss shared challenges and successes managing, researching, and interpreting their respective resources as well as exploring opportunities for future cooperation on management and conservation issues.
Though over 5,000 miles apart, both parks are of extraordinary scientific importance, providing complete sequences of fossiliferous continental sediments representing the Triassic Period of geological history (c.250-200 million years before present for Ischigualasto and c.225-205 million years before present for Petrified Forest). These sediments reveal the evolution of modern animal groups such as crocodiles, turtles and birds in the Triassic, and the nature of paleoenvironments in the Triassic that ushered in the “Age of the Dinosaurs." Additionally, many of the migratory bird species that frequent Petrified Forest in the spring through fall have migration routes that begin and end in Argentina.
Petrified Forest National Park employees received funding from the National Park Foundation’s Horace M. Albright-Conrad L. Wirth Grant Program to travel to Argentina. The program funds personal and career development projects for National Park Service employees.
https://www.ischigualasto.gob.ar/en/
www.nps.gov/pefo
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/internationalcooperation/sister-parks.htm
Tags: petrifiedforest nationalpark sisterpark argentina ischigualasto
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service