US: Oil, gas leases on hold around NM’s Chaco park
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — New oil and gas leasing within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park will be prohibited for the next two years as officials consider a proposal to withdraw federal land in the area from development for a 20-year period, the U.S. Department of Interior announced.
This week’s announcement came as environmentalists, some Native American tribes and Democratic politicians have pressured Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to take administrative action to protect a broad swath of land in northwestern New Mexico that holds significance for many Indigenous people in the Southwest.
The first Native American to hold a Cabinet position, Haaland is from Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico.
She has called the area sacred and reiterated its importance Monday, saying it has deep meaning for those whose ancestors once called the high desert home.
“Now is the time to consider more enduring protections for the living landscape that is Chaco, so that we can pass on this rich cultural legacy to future generations,” Haaland said.
A World Heritage site, Chaco is thought to be the center of what was once a hub of Indigenous civilization. Within the park, walls of stacked stone jut up from the bottom of the canyon, some aligned with the seasonal movements of the sun and moon. Circular subterranean rooms called kivas are cut into the floor. Outside the park, archaeologists have said, there are more discoveries to be made.
The fight over drilling beyond the boundaries of the park has been ongoing for decades and has spanned multiple presidential administrations. The Trump and Obama administrations also put on hold leases adjacent to the park through agency actions, but activists want more permanent action that cannot be upended by future administrations.
Haaland was among the sponsors of legislation calling for greater protections around Chaco during her tenure in the U.S. House, but calls have mounted for her to use administrative powers to establish a buffer zone around Chaco pending the outcome of federal legislation.
Over the next two years, the Bureau of Land Management will be tasked with conducting an environmental analysis and gathering public comment on the proposed administrative withdrawal. The agency vows to consult with tribes.
Federal officials said the ban of new petroleum leasing in the area will not affect existing leases or rights and would not apply to minerals owned by private, state or tribal entities.
The impact of a 20-year withdrawal, if approved, is uncertain because the area is a jurisdictional checkerboard of state, private, federal and tribal holdings. Much of land surrounding Chaco belongs to the largest Indigenous tribe in the U.S. — the Navajo Nation — and to individual Navajo allottees.