Employees from Petrified Forest National Park traveled to Argentina to sign a Sister Park Arrangement with Ischigualasto Provincial Park. Park Manager Jeannine McElveen, Program Manager for Interpretation and Education Sarah Hervé, Program Manager for Resource Stewardship and Science Dr. William Parker and Park Paleontologist Dr. Adam Marsh met with the Coordinator of the Autárquico Ente Ischigualasto, Lic. Emilio Fernández and the Secretary of Institutional Relations of the Government of San Juan, Marcelo Fretes and signed the arrangement on July 31. Angeles Coscolla represented the US Embassy in Argentina. Ischigualasto Provincial Park (IPP), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Petrified Forest National Park (PEFO) share similar paleontological, geological, biological, and archaeological resources. Though over 5,000 miles apart, both IPP and PEFO 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 IPP and c.225-205 million years before present for PEFO). These sediments reveal the evolution of modern animal groups 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 PEFO in the spring through fall have migration routes that begin and end in Argentina. The sister park arrangement between Ischigualasto 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 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. Petrified Forest received an Albright Wirth grant in support of the travel to Argentina. The Horace M. Albright-Conrad L. Wirth Grant Program (AWGP), administered by the National Park Foundation, annually awards funding for personal and career development projects to National Park Service employees.
