Revoking Chaco Canyon Protections Would Risk A Thousand Years of History

Yesterday, the Trump administration proposed eliminating protections for the Greater Chaco Region that safeguard the area from new oil and gas leasing, undoing a 20-year mineral withdrawal that has kept public lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park off-limits to new development.

The proposed rollback would reopen the lands within 10 miles of the park’s boundaries to new oil and gas drilling, threatening a cultural landscape with more than a thousand years of history. Chaco Culture National Historical Park, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, protects extraordinary great houses, kivas and cultural landmarks, as well as the dark skies that make Chaco Canyon one of the most unique national parks in the world.

New drilling would damage sacred sites and worsen air pollution. With over 90% of nearby federal public land already leased for energy development, these protections were put in place to reduce the impacts of drilling on cultural and sacred sites, ecosystems, public health and traditional ways of life. NPCA has worked for years alongside conservation partners and Indigenous communities to defend this historic landscape.

The mineral withdrawal was developed through a robust public process, spanning 1.5 years with 150 days available for public comment. Yet now, the Department of the Interior is fast-tracking its proposed rollback with only a seven-day public comment period.

Statement from Maude Dinan, New Mexico Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association

“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.

“Chaco Canyon is one of the most extraordinary cultural landscapes in our National Park 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.”

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About the National Parks Conservation Association: Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its more than 1.9 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations. For more information, visit www.npca.org.