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<b style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: inherit; font-variant-ligatures: inherit; font-variant-caps: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(56, 56, 56);">Deborah Woodcock, </span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(56, 56, 56);">Clark
University</span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(56, 56, 56);"><b>, Herb Meyer, </b></span><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(56, 56, 56);">National Park
Service, The Conversation, June 9, 2021</span><span style="font-size: 9pt; font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(56, 56, 56);"><b><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></b></span><br>
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<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">“This petrified forest, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/flfo/learn/nature/sexi-peru.htm"><span style="color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">El
Bosque Perificado Piedra Chamana</span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">, is the first fossil forest from the South American tropics to be studied in detail. It is helping </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=b6PMkG0AAAAJ&hl=en"><span style="color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">paleontologists</span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Herbert-W-Meyer-2110283149"><span style="color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">like
us</span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> to understand the history of the megadiverse forests of the New World tropics and the past climates and environments of South America.
By examining thin slices of petrified wood under microscopes, we were able to map out the mix of trees that thrived here long before humans existed.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Our concept of what this ancient forest was like expanded when we had an opportunity to collaborate with an artist at </span><span style="color:#333333"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/flfo/index.htm"><span style="color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Florissant
Fossil Beds National Monument</span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> in Colorado to reconstruct the forest and landscape. Other locations with fossil trees include Florissant, which
has giant petrified redwood stumps, and </span><span style="color:#333333"><a href="https://www.nps.gov/pefo/index.htm"><span style="color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Petrifed Forest National Park</span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> in
Arizona.</span><span style="color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Working with the artist, </span><span style="color:#333333"><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Mariah-Slovacek-2135795828"><span style="color: rgb(56, 56, 56); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Mariah
Slovacek</span></a></span><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">, who is also a paleontologist, made us think critically about many things: What would the forest have looked like? Were the trees
evergreen or deciduous? Which were tall and which shorter? What would they have looked like in flower or in fruit?”</span><span style="color:#333333"><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">See full article
</span><span style="color:#333333"><a href="https://theconversation.com/amp/a-volcanic-eruption-39-million-years-ago-buried-a-forest-in-peru-now-the-petrified-trees-are-revealing-south-americas-primeval-history-160160"><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">here</span></a><o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span></o:p></span></p>
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