Interior Department Heeds Public Protest of Lease Sale Near Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke made a surprising move in early March, directing the Bureau of Land Management to defer the sale of over 4,000 acres that were slated for oil and gas leasing near Chaco Culture National Historical Park until the agency completes consultation with area tribes. Over 120 formal protests against this lease sale were submitted to the agency during the public comment period, the most ever submitted for a BLM lease sale in New Mexico.
Parcels in the Greater Chaco Region have been deferred (meaning they aren’t considered for leasing) for almost a decade as the BLM completes a revision of its Resource Management Plan for the area. A primary reason for this revision is to assess potential environmental and cultural impacts associated with development of the Mancos-Gallup formation in northwestern New Mexico.
Previous Administrations, New Mexico’s Congressional delegation, the New Mexico State Legislature, Tribal Leaders, a multitude of organizations, archeologists, and the public have supported deferment of leases within a 10-mile radius of Chaco over the past several years. The Obama Administration stated it would not lease additional parcels here until the Resource Management Plan revision was complete. In the past year, New Mexico’s Congressional delegation has submitted two separate letters to the BLM expressing the need for tribal consultation and adequate assessment of cultural resources before leasing can occur. In 2017, the New Mexico State Legislature passed a memorial supporting these same measures. The Navajo Nation and All Pueblo Council of Governors have repeatedly expressed concerns about the impacts of industrial development in the Greater Chaco Region on their cultural heritage, which is intimately woven into this landscape. These concerns rose to the highest levels of Tribal government at a meeting of the National Congress of American Indians where outgoing president Brian Cladoosby and new president Jefferson Keel talked about the need to preserve and respect sacred sites within the Greater Chaco Region, emphasizing the importance of these places as ties to cultural heritage. Until recently, consultation with the tribes by the BLM has been considered inadequate to address these and other issues. A wealth of conservation groups, archeological societies, and individuals have shared many of these concerns over the past decade, as well.
With over a decade of public protest over leasing of parcels in this area, the agency must have been aware of the uproar this decision to lease would cause. So, we must ask — why were these parcels put up for auction in the first place?
Secretary Zinke was right to take these parcels off the table. This is a step in the right direction, but there is more work to do to ensure this natural and cultural landscape is protected not just today, but for future generations. Public involvement made the difference in this last battle and there will be more to come as the Trump Administration removes many of the safeguards designed to mitigate the impact of industrial development on our public lands.
A draft of the BLM’s revised Resource Management Plan for the Greater Chaco Region is slated for release this June. This release will trigger a 90-day comment period, within which public support for lasting protections of the Greater Chaco Region and the undeveloped landscapes within it will be integral to ensuring this special place remains intact. If the Secretary truly intends to consider public and tribal input, he should support a final Resource Management Plan that takes oil and gas parcels in the vicinity of Chaco Culture National Historical Park off the table, protects remaining areas of undisturbed land in northwest New Mexico, and requires use of best available technologies and mitigation of damage for areas already leased.
