On December 3, 2004 President George W. Bush signed a bill that authorized expanded boundaries for Petrified Forest National Park. The expansion increases park acreage from 93,533 acres to approximately 218,533 acres and includes land in both Apache and Navajo Counties. This is an increase of 125,000 acres, more than doubling the size of Petrified Forest National Park.

Petrified Forest Expansion Act of 2004 - Public Law 108-430 (PDF, 38kb)

On May 18, 2007, the Bureau of Land Management transfered administrative jurisdiction of approximately 15,228 acres of public lands to the National Park Service. Go to news release.

The Petrified Forest National Park 1993 General Management Plan proposed adding 97,800 acres to the park to protect internationally significant paleontological deposits, nationally significant archeological sites, and the view shed as seen from the Painted Desert and Southern Wilderness Areas. The existing park boundaries were based primarily on survey lines rather than resource boundaries. The proposed expansion would incorporate, for protection, preservation, and study, fragile resources which are as significant as those already protected within current park boundaries.

The proposed expansion area is a checkerboard of federal, state, and private lands. Several private land owners in the area have indicated their desire to sell their land. The Bureau of Land Management and the State of Arizona are also supportive of the park expansion.

The following map shows an outline of where the proposed expansion land lies in relation to current park boundaries. Proposed Boundary Expansion Area (PDF, 226kb) The most recent draft of the expansion area is this map (PDI, 307 kb).

The National Park Service is actively pursuing the purchase of the newly authorized lands with land owners who are willing to sell their property.