Petrified Forest expansion may yield treasures

From The Arizona Republic:

PETRIFIED FOREST – As paleontologist Bill Parker slowly moves his fingers across the skull of a crocodile-looking phytosaur, his voice quickens while he discusses future dinosaur discoveries in an expanded Petrified Forest National Park.

The head of this 30-foot-long creature is so impressive in its detail that it is about to be shipped for prominent display to the Smithsonian Institution.

Two weeks ago, Congress gave its long-anticipated blessing to a bill that will more than double the size, to 222,000 acres, of this northeastern Arizona national park, famed for its calcified wood, dinosaur remains and petroglyphs.

The expansion will protect the new acreage, allow blight removal and yield many new archaeological sites.