FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2026

Press Contact:

Keegan King, keegan@native-lands.org, 505-910-0712

Paul Reed, preed@archaeologysouthwest.org, 505-486-4107

Sally Paez, sally@nmwild.org, 505-350-0664

 

 

Revoking Chaco Canyon Protections Ignores Pueblos, Tribes, and the Public

 

(Santa Fe, NM) — Yesterday, the Trump administration began a 7-day Public Scoping period as part of its proposal to open public lands in the Greater Chaco Region to oil and gas drilling. On October 30, 2025, the administration began the process by initiating Tribal consultation on its proposal to reverse Public Land Order 7923. The Public Land Order withdrew and put 336,400 acres surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park off limits to unchecked extractive development for 20 years. If the Interior Department (DOI) moves forward with its proposal, new oil and gas leasing and development on federal lands will be allowed within 10 miles of the park’s boundaries – even on lands directly bordering the park – threatening the irreplaceable cultural resources throughout the landscape.

The Greater Chaco Landscape includes Chaco Culture National Historical Park and thousands of archaeological and cultural sites, including great houses, roads, and shrines constructed by the ancestral peoples of today’s Pueblos and the Hopi Tribe, as well as sites of continuing significance to the Navajo Nation and other Indigenous Nations. Chaco Canyon flourished as a major cultural and ceremonial center between 850 and 1250 A.D., and its legacy remains central to the cultural identity, traditions, and ongoing practices of Indigenous peoples in the region. Chaco Canyon has also been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because the culture and heritage of the Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest are inextricably linked to the ongoing protection of the Greater Chaco Landscape.

The DOI is rushing to overturn protections and is giving the public only 7 days to weigh in. This hasty and deficient process stands in stark contrast to the robust public process used to create the withdrawal, which included 150 days for public comment, 8 public meetings, and 1.5 years of careful consideration. In addition to DOI’s “preferred alternative,” which would remove protections all together, the DOI has also proposed a second alternative that would reduce the size of the buffer around the park to only 5 miles. Although only 15-20 percent of the area has been surveyed, archaeologists estimate that as many as 12,000 cultural sites and traditional cultural places lie within the 5-10-mile zone, all of which would be exposed to harmful drilling under this second option.

With nearly 90% of the region already leased before protections were put in place, intensive drilling has caused significant harm to the health of local and Indigenous communities, air quality, and cultural integrity in the landscape surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Oil and gas wells, roads, pipelines, and other infrastructure have destroyed significant cultural sites and transformed others into industrial wastelands. To allow more drilling in this area would completely disregard the calls from Tribes, including the 20 sovereign Pueblos that collectively participate in the All Pueblo Council of Governors, the National Congress of American Indians, the Mescalero Apache Tribe, elected officials, and other communities who share a deep connection to Chaco Canyon.

Without this critical safeguard in place, the landscape is at great risk of being further degraded. The Greater Chaco region has already suffered from significant damage to air, water, and public health due to oil and gas extraction, and unrestrained oil and gas development will jeopardize the longevity of invaluable traditions and cultures.

This proposal is part of a much larger effort by the administration and DOI leadership to turn over public lands, including places with exceptional conservation and cultural values like the Greater Chaco Landscape, to the oil and gas industry. Already, the July 2025 federal budget reconciliation bill required the Bureau of Land Management to offer a staggering 87% of New Mexico’s public and private lands with federally managed subsurface minerals for oil and gas leasing several times each year. This administration is seeking to elevate oil and gas above all other uses of public lands, even in areas with irreplaceable values like Chaco Canyon and where there is widespread opposition from local communities. A Colorado College poll released this year found that 71% of voters in New Mexico oppose allowing energy development on public lands near Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

Below, several coalition members have released statements detailing what this reversal could mean for the Greater Chaco Area:

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“This proposal is a step backwards into a history we have fought hard to move beyond,” said Keegan King, Executive Director, Native Land Institute. “The Greater Chaco Landscape holds the origins of our Pueblo world, and it has already endured serious damage from decades of unchecked development. To strip away protections now, against the clear opposition of Tribal Nations, shows a disregard for our sovereignty, our health, and our future. The Native Land Institute stands with the Pueblos and all Tribal Nations in demanding that the federal government honor its trust responsibility and keep this landscape protected.”

“We are appalled that Secretary Burgum is moving to revoke the mineral withdrawal and put Chaco’s 10-mile zone of protection and the Greater Chaco Landscape at risk. The amazing cultural heritage of Chaco Culture National Historical Park must not be compromised. If the process moves forward, a 7-day comment period is ridiculously short and not compliant with established practice. This process should unfold with a 90-day NEPA process and public meetings, allowing the public to fully participate,” said Paul F. Reed, New Mexico State Director, Archaeology Southwest.

“This decision sends a dangerous message that no place, not even one that holds a thousand years of history, is too important to sacrifice for oil and gas drilling,” said Maude Dinan, New Mexico Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association. “Chaco Canyon is one of the most extraordinary cultural landscapes in our national parks system and has endured as a place of community and connection that continues to hold profound meaning for Tribes today. Now, the Trump administration is auctioning it off to the oil and gas industry, trading sacred and scenic vistas for pumpjacks and the drum of drilling. This is not about energy strategy. It’s an attack on cultural heritage, community health, and all that our national parks were created to protect.”

“Rolling back protections for the Greater Chaco Region would be a grave injustice and a violation of the federal government’s trust responsibility to Tribal Nations,” said Michael Casaus, New Mexico State Director at The Wilderness Society. “This landscape deserves lasting protection, not just for its significant cultural importance, but for the living cultures, communities and future generations that depend on it.”

“The proposed reversal of the Greater Chaco withdrawal demonstrates deep disrespect for this irreplaceable cultural landscape and the people who advocated for its protection through a robust Tribal consultation and stakeholder engagement process,” said Sally Paez, Staff Attorney for New Mexico Wild. “We are outraged that this administration is prioritizing short-term profits and oil and gas drilling over the long-term stewardship of a World Heritage Site for current and future generations. This decision will harm our shared cultural heritage, public health, climate, wildlands, wildlife habitat, and Chaco’s famous dark skies.”

“The Chaco Culture National Historical Park represents a significant part of the cultural history of this continent and must continue to be preserved and protected,” declared Charlotte Overby, New Mexico-based Vice President of Conservation Field Programs at the Conservation Lands Foundation. “The administration’s attempt to short-circuit federal law with a reduced public comment period represents a significant betrayal of the promise of America: we must honor and defend significant historical sites like Chaco Canyon, defend Tribal sovereignty, and not sell public lands off to the highest bidder for oil and gas drilling that will endanger the remarkable evidence of an important native culture that thrived there. Defiling Chaco Canyon in this way will send a signal that nothing in this country is precious and everything is worth only what it can be sold for, and it will deprive all people from learning the stories of the Native people who have lived here since time immemorial.”

“Opening up the Greater Chaco Region to reckless oil and gas drilling means an irreplaceable crown jewel of New Mexico public lands – home to thousands of archaeological and cultural sites of deep importance – will be at needless risk of destruction. This misguided decision means that all sorts of oil and gas wells, pipelines and infrastructure will degrade these sacred lands, pollute the air we breathe and the water we drink – jeopardizing public health, wildlife, and the longevity of traditions and cultures that are inextricably linked to this region,” said Jesse Deubel, Executive Director of the New Mexico Wildlife Federation.

“Removing the buffer zone protecting public lands in and around Chaco Canyon invites dangerous pollution to a place sacred to Indigenous peoples and local communities, and valued worldwide. With over 90 percent of nearby public lands already leased for drilling, it’s unacceptable for this Interior Department to turn a UNESCO World Heritage Site into a sacrifice zone,” said Gabrielle Uballez, Executive Director at New Mexico Voices for Children.

“Chaco Cultural National Historical Park has incalculable ecological and historical value. It is too special to be exposed to oil and gas drilling. The park is one of the last sanctuaries for desert animals seeking respite from surrounding drilling and human interference,” said Ellen Montgomery, Great Outdoors Campaign Director for Environment New Mexico. “Protecting this special place has overwhelming public support in New Mexico and across the country. The protections enacted in 2023 should be left in place.”

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