New survey cited in effort to protect sites near Chaco sacred to tribes
ALBUQUERQUE — Native American leaders and archaeologists on Monday pointed to a recent survey of an area around Chaco Culture National Historical Park that is considered sacred by some tribes in the Southwest, saying there are thousands of sites outside the park’s boundaries that deserve protection.
They released some details from the summer pilot project during an online presentation, saying more work needs to be done as there are still aspects of early Chaco culture and its connections to modern pueblo communities that need to be discovered and preserved. They fear oil and gas development is encroaching upon the park and the unprotected sites.
“We all drive cars, we all need oil and gas. We don’t need oil and gas near special places,” said Paul Reed, a Chaco scholar with Archaeology Southwest, an Arizona-based nonprofit that has been working with tribes to survey the area.
“There are many, many places on this landscape that merit additional protection and we are convinced that this is something that the agencies need to pay attention to,” Reed said of the group’s latest work.
A public comment period ended Friday as federal land managers are considering revisions to a plan that would govern oil and gas drilling and other development in the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico. Federal officials say they have received more than 14,000 comments.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham was among those who submitted letters. She and others have complained that an environmental review of the proposed management plan does not adequately address the potential impacts of increased development on air quality or cultural resources.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Chaco park has served as a rallying cry for environmentalists and pueblos that have been trying to stop drilling in the basin.