Protecting the Past

Within about five minutes of walking around the Milky Ranch near Holbrook, a place that Congress has already decided should be added to the Petrified Forest National Park, a few things become very clear. The horizon doesn't end. The cows have the run of the place. And if you're looking for American Indian artifacts or petrified wood, you've come to the right place. Among the green scrub brush, arrowheads and pottery shards litter the dry, brown ground. Unfortunately, although Congress earmarked the area for protection as a part of the national park, it never actually set aside the money. As a result, looters ensure that the trove of artifacts and petrified wood dwindles every day.

"We're dealing with people who are armed; they're antagonistic; they believe they have a right to dig wherever they want to," says Larry Baldwin, who owns Baldwin Investigations in Holbrook. Baldwin patrols the Milky Ranch and finds looters' dig sites, cigarette butts and trash. "It seems like the bad guys are just getting more blatant," he says. "It's gone from people using shovels to illegally dig the ruins to people using heavy equipment. It used to be that the looters would go in at night, on foot, so they wouldn't be spotted. Now, they're using heavy equipment in broad daylight, with no fear of getting caught, or should I say prosecuted."

Looters have done well over $3 million in damage to the Milky Ranch in the past four years, he says. Baldwin says he's seen bags of pottery shards selling on eBay for $20, but he knows that's pocket change. "They want to get full pots out of the burials," Baldwin says. "The burial pots are the most lucrative, or expensive. Some of those will go for up to $50,000."

Concerns about the looters and the uncertainty about the proposed expansion of the Petrified Forest have compounded other problems facing the ranchers, many eager to see their land protected or to be rid of it. The long drought has hit several of them hard. "Mother Nature, that factor, combined with the relatively low prices for our product, has made ranching a very marginal business," says rancher Bill Jeffers. "Ranching the way it's been the last 40, 50, maybe even 100 years in the West is just about finished," he says, noting that he's had to sell off 70 percent of his cattle. Mike Fitzgerald, owner of the approximately 38,000-acre Twin Buttes Ranch, has also sold off most of his cattle. "The drought wears you down. You're always thinking it's gonna get better, but it doesn't. It gets worse."

Unfortunately, the ranchers and the preservationists are all caught in politi-cal limbo. In December 2004, Congress authorized the nearby Petrified Forest National Park to more than double in size,

The transferred land would go to the Petrified Forest National Park, which welcomes around 600,000 people each year. Those people are seeing what many call “Triassic Park,” known for its petrified wood, fossils and dinosaur bones from more than 200 million years ago.

U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona says the federal government isn't likely to come up with the necessary $20 to $30 million anytime soon. “Most likely the land we're able to pull into the park is probably going to have to be done more through land exchanges than through outright purchases,” he says.

Ranchers don't normally cheer the government, but in this case, some hope the feds will buy their land before the looters strip it bare. “I just don't understand the purpose of passing a bill without money to provide either security or the transfer of that property right away,” says Larry Baldwin.

“The park preserves one of the best accessible exposures of late Triassic rocks in the world,” says Bill Parker, the paleon-tologist at the Petrified Forest National Park. “So it's a window where we can actually go back in time.

Parker says the windows into places with similar formations are closed, if they are on private land.

As Parker talks about what he might find, he looks out onto the private land he hopes to one day explore, including the fossil-rich Chinle Escarpment and the Puerco River, which teems with wildlife. The area is beautiful; the Painted Desert's magnificent colors in one direction, rock formations stretching into the distance in another, badlands in yet another. However, many of those stunning vistas aren't currently in the park.

Park Superintendent Lee Baiza believes bringing these “borrowed views” into the park will benefit visitors and protect vital resources. “With this expansion, it should simplify the management of the areas around us. It's going to provide us better access into areas that are really more sensitive and difficult to protect.” Baiza says much of the ranchland has That's welcome news to rancher Mike Fitzgerald. Sitting in the front seat of his truck, he takes out an intact clay pot he found on his land. The black lines zig and zag, forming an intricate pattern. He's glad he picked it up before looters did. “It's obvious when you hold something like that pot in your hand, you see the value,” he says.

Those security issues are major ones for the landowners. Protecting the Milky Ranch costs about $1,000 a month plus the cost of gates and fences.

Baiza says that will change once the expansion goes through. “We have a law enforcement staff in the park that is trained to do just that,” he says. “We also have technology.” roads and fences which will make it easier to patrol and control looting.

Many of the ranchers just wish it would happen more quickly. And they're not alone. Groups like the non-profit Petrified Forest Museum Association have started looking into accepting donated land. Paul DoBell, the association's executive director, says most of these parcels are small, 10 to 40 acres. The group would hold the land in trust, until the park can take over, but so far, he says, no landowners have donated their property. Other groups are exploring similar arrangements and lobbying Congress. Despite those efforts, looters continue to operate. Jeffers says he's seen vandals hit pristine areas that are supposed to go to the park. He notes some other pieces of expansion land have also recently changed hands. "There are areas now that have already been sold that were proposed for the expansion, and they were sold specifically for people to get petrified wood, or even artifacts," he says. Jeffers and others know that making the expansion happen will take a lot of work and money, but they also know those resources pale in comparison to the assets the park is losing every day the expansion doesn't go through.

Before writing this story, Mark Brodie, a reporter with KJZZ Radio, Phoenix's NPR station, had never been on a cattle ranch. He's also never seen anything as colorful as petrified wood. He lives in Scottsdale. George Stocking was astounded by the natural and cultural wonders on the lands adjacent to the park. He was also impressed with the ranchers' knowledge and concern about the future of this heritage.

in the neighborhood HOLBROOK

Information: Sometimes referred to as the gateway to the Petrified Forest National Park and Painted Desert, the town traces its history to 1881 when cattle ranches and railroads were the economic mainstay. The historic Navajo County courthouse here was built in 1898. Visitors packets include directions for a historical walking tour. (800) 524-2459; www.ci.holbrook.az.us.

Navajo County Historic Courthouse: The old courthouse houses a museum of Apache, Navajo, Hopi, and pioneer artifacts. Indians perform at the courthouse every weeknight in June and July. Free. 100 E. Arizona. (928) 524-6558.

Petrified Forest National Park: Colorfully mineralized stumps and logs dot the park. The Painted Desert lies within the park, as do the Painted Desert Inn Museum and the petroglyph-covered Newspaper Rock, archaeological sites and a visitors center, tours and a movie. Fee: $10, private vehicle for seven days. Park open 7 A.M. to 7 P.M. Closed Christmas. South entrance off U.S. Route 180, 19 miles southeast of Holbrook. North entrance at Exit 311 of Interstate 40 east of Holbrook. (928) 524-6228; www.nps. gov/pefo.

Museum of the Americas and Dinosaur Park: Lifesized dinosaur replicas and a collection of pre-Columbian artifacts can be found at this privately owned museum. $10 per car. Open 8 A.M. to 6 P.M. Located 3 miles east at Interstate 40 Exit 292. (928) 524-9178; (888) 830-6682.

WINSLOW

Information: For information call (928) 289-2434; www. winslowarizona.org/visitorinfo.html.

Old Trails Museum: Exhibits focus on Route 66, the Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) culture, the Santa Fe Railway, vintage clothing, ranch life and antique bottles. Open Monday - Saturday, 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. Closed Sunday. Donations. 212 N. Kinsley Ave., Winslow. (928) 289-5861.

Homolovi Ruins State Park: Considered sacred by the Hopi Indians, this site holds three 14th-century pueblo ruins. Visitors center, bookstore, exhibits, campgrounds with rest rooms and showers, grills and day-use ramadas. Open daily, except Christmas, 6 A.M. to sunset. $5 per vehicle, camping fees vary. Off Interstate 40, north of Exit 257. (928) 289-4106; www.pr.state.az.us/Parks/parkhtml/ homolovi.html.

La Posada Hotel: One of the great railroad hotels, this elegant hacienda-style building was once the favorite stop of travelers on the Santa Fe Railway. Designed by Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, it opened in 1930. Now, much of La Posada Hotel has been restored to its original charm. 303 E. Second St. (Route 66). Reservations, (928) 289-4366; www.laposada.org.

Meteor Crater: Around 50,000 years ago, a meteorite left a crater nearly 600 feet deep and 4,000 feet wide. View the crater from the visitors center or a guided halfmile tour skirting the rim. Take Exit 233 from Interstate 40; go south for 6 miles. $15, adults; $6, ages 6 to 17; $13, senior; and free, 5 and under. (800) 289-5898; (928) 289-5898; www.meteorcrater.com.

Little Painted Desert County Park: Located northeast of Winslow, with hiking trails and views of the desert's colorful clay formations of red, violet, green and gray. Scenic overlook, picnic ramadas and a rest room. The Little Painted Desert is 13 miles northeast of Winslow and Interstate 40. Take Exit 257. For information call (928) 524-4757.