FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Santa Fe, NM – Yesterday, the Trump administration concluded its 14-day public comment period on the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Draft Environmental Assessment, which proposes revoking Public Land Order 7923 and reopening public lands across the Greater Chaco Landscape to oil and gas drilling and mining. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) received over 200,000 comments on this proposal, the vast majority of which urged the Administration to reject the proposal and maintain protections for one of the nation’s most culturally and historically significant landscapes.
The overwhelming public response follows more than 100,000 comments submitted during the agency’s seven-day scoping period earlier this year, with the vast majority supporting continued protections for the Greater Chaco Landscape.
Opposition to the proposal spans Tribal leaders, former National Park officials, archaeologists, conservationists, Tribal advocates, over 150 faith leaders, and many members of the public. In addition, local elected officials, the NM State Land Office, the Santa Fe County Commissioner, and multiple Members of Congress have sent letters opposing the rollbacks. Local Diné and Pueblo organizations and community members also submitted a joint letter in strong opposition of rollbacks and the brief comment period.
Earlier this month, a historic delegation of more than 40 Pueblo governors and cultural leaders traveled to Washington, D.C., urging federal leaders to uphold Public Land Order 7923 and preserve federal lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park from future oil and gas leasing. Pueblo leaders reaffirmed that revoking or weakening these protections would threaten one of North America’s most significant Indigenous cultural landscapes.
Just this week, Diné allotment shareholders and community leaders also traveled to Washington, D.C. to demand federal leaders fulfill their responsibilities to consider the public health and safety concerns of Diné communities about oil, gas, and mineral development in the region.
More than 370 former National Park leaders—members of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks and the Association of National Park Rangers—also sent a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum urging the Department to maintain the Public Land Order, citing the Greater Chaco Landscape’s extraordinary cultural significance to Southwestern Tribes, its importance to the nation’s shared history, and its value in advancing our understanding of human civilization.
Despite this unprecedented public engagement, the Administration’s Draft Environmental Assessment largely mirrors its original proposal, leaving Tribal leaders, local communities, and stakeholders concerned that public input was treated as a procedural requirement rather than meaningfully incorporated into the agency’s decision-making process.
Public Land Order 7923 protects approximately 338,690 acres of federal lands and minerals surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park by withdrawing them from new oil and gas leasing and new mining claims for 20 years. If the Department of the Interior finalizes its proposal to revoke the order, new leasing, drilling, and uranium mining could occur within the park’s 10-mile cultural protection zone—including on federal lands immediately adjacent to the park—placing irreplaceable cultural resources, sacred sites, and the broader Greater Chaco Landscape at risk.
Below are statements from Pueblo and Diné leaders and community advocates:
“As a Diné allotment shareholder, my siblings and I have allotments within the Greater Chaco mineral withdrawal area and outside the withdrawal area. So that gives me a before-and-after perspective of the impacts that have happened to the withdrawal area. What I see is that the energy companies are running amok, without proper monitoring or oversight. And if allowed, the energy companies will do the same type of destruction to the land, the air, the water, and the sacred places. What sacred sites are within the withdrawal area? And that is the reason that we are working hard to make sure the public land order 7923 stays in place,” said Daniel Tso, Diné allotment shareholder and former Navajo Nation Council Delegate.
“The federal government’s rushed process directly undermines Tribal sovereignty and the government’s fiduciary duty towards allottees and all Indigenous peoples. Despite federal law requiring meaningful consultation with Tribes, the BLM did not conduct outreach to Tribal communities and limited federal notices to English, barring non-English speakers from engaging with information about the consequential impacts of this proposal. This is illegal and disgraceful,” said Mario Atencio, Diné allotment shareholder. “The federal government must right its wrongs, listen to impacted communities, and keep the buffer zone in place.”
“For generations, our communities have lived with the consequences of unchecked oil and gas development in the Greater Chaco Region. The pollution does not recognize boundaries- it moves through air we breathe and water we depend on, placing the greatest burden on our elders, children,” said Wendy Atcitty, Huerfano Community Member of Eastern Navajo. “The BLM Environmental Assessment (EA) does not meaningfully reflect this. We will not be ignored. We will continue to raise our voices and ensure our experiences are heard and considered in federal processes.”
“The Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management’s proposal to rescind the 10-mile buffer protecting the Greater Chaco Landscape is a profound mistake and a blatant disregard for one of the world’s greatest cultural landscapes. Chaco is not simply an archaeological site. It is a living homeland that remains central to the identity and traditions of Pueblo people today,” said APCG Chairman Joey Sanchez of Santa Ana Pueblo. “More than a thousand years ago, our ancestors built a civilization whose influence spread across North America. And in just 14 days, this administration could undo decades of progress and reopen these sacred lands to oil and gas development. Some places cannot be replaced. There is only one Chaco.”
“Pueblo leaders have spoken with one voice, and more than 100,000 members of the public participated in this process because they understand what is at stake,” said APCG Vice Chairman Mark Mitchell, Governor of Tesuque Pueblo. “Meaningful government-to- government consultation requires more than checking a box. We expect the United States to honor its trust responsibility by listening to Tribal Nations and respecting the cultural, historical, and spiritual significance of the Greater Chaco Landscape.”
“For Pueblo people, Chaco is not part of a distant past. It remains part of our present and our future,” said Governor Charles Riley of Pueblo of Acoma. “Our ancestors entrusted us with the responsibility to protect these places, and we carry that same responsibility for the generations who will come after us. Once these landscapes are disturbed, they cannot be restored. That is why we continue to stand together in defense of Greater Chaco.”
“The Greater Chaco Landscape extends far beyond the boundaries of the national historical park,” said Governor Raymond Aguilar Jr. of Kewa Pueblo. “It includes sacred sites, migration routes, cultural landscapes, and places that continue to hold deep meaning for Pueblo people today. Protecting Chaco is about protecting a living cultural landscape that connects our communities across generations. We call on federal leadership to work with our indigenous nations for the benefit of all Americans.”
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