Celebrate National Wildflower Week at Petrified Forest

Date: April 28, 2009
Contact: Hallie Larsen, 928-524-6228 x274
Contact: Rita Garcia, 928-524-6228 x273

Petrified Forest, AZ ― The national forests, national parks, national wildlife refuges, grasslands, and millions of acres of public lands are truly America's wildflower gardens.  Celebrating Wildflowers' National Wildflower Week in late spring is an annual event.  It launches a campaign that promotes the many programs featuring the important role that the Nation's public lands, over 630 million acres, play in providing diverse habitats for much of America's flora.

Celebrating Wildflowers—a collaborative commemoration between the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service—emphasizes the importance of conservation and management of native plants and plant habitats and highlights the aesthetic, recreational, biological, medicinal, and economic values of wildflowers.

During National Wildflower Week, May 3 through 10, 2009, activities at the park will include:

May 3-9 10 am, meet at the Painted Desert Visitor Center for a Wildflower Discovery Stroll. This is an easy walk exploring some of the many species of wildflowers that are just starting to bloom at this time of year. Location will be posted at the visitor centers. Impromptu programs will occur throughout the day at various locations, depending on interest and the flowers themselves.

Join us for “Wild about Wildflowers”, a talk with activities about our amazing regional wildflowers at the Holbrook Public Library on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 4 pm.

There will be a wildflower exhibit at Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark and an interactive wildflower computer at the Painted Desert Visitor Center and online at https://www.nps.gov/pefo.

Handouts about Petrified Forest National Park’s wildflowers and other plants will be available at the Painted Desert Visitor Center, Painted Desert Inn National Historic Landmark, and Rainbow Forest Museum as well as a PDF online at https://www.nps.gov/pefo.

Celebrate National Wildflower Week at Petrified Forest National Park and the diversity of beauty we can all enjoy throughout our country.

For more information call [phone] weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Mountain Standard Time; or write to the Superintendent, Petrified Forest National Park, P.O. Box 2217, Petrified Forest, AZ 86028; or e-mail the park Superintendent at e-mail us. Our website has more news and press releases: www.nps.gov/pefo/parknews/newsreleases.htm.