President Joe Biden’s administration has issued a 20-year prohibition on new drilling and mining in the vicinity of Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. Chaco Canyon possesses a desert landscape with significant Indigenous cultural sites. The ban encompasses all federally managed lands within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. However, it does not impact existing oil and gas leases or mineral development on private, state, or tribal lands. President Biden initially took steps to preserve the area in November 2021.
The Secretary of the Interior stated that this measure will protect “irreplaceable cultural sites where Pueblo and Tribal Nations continue to honor their ancestral traditions and customs.” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland acknowledged that efforts to preserve the Chaco landscape have been ongoing for years due to concerns raised by Tribal communities about the adverse effects of new development on culturally significant areas.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, originally established as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907, spans over 30,000 acres in northwestern New Mexico and is home to significant Ancestral Puebloan cultural sites in the United States. Native American tribes consider this landscape sacred, and they have long sought greater protections for the surrounding area, which has experienced a surge in oil and gas development in recent decades. The park was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Environmental and public land advocates have praised the decision to ban new federal oil and gas leasing in Greater Chaco while also urging the administration to take further action to safeguard the Chaco landscape and halt oil and gas leasing across federal lands. Judith Le Blanc of the Native Organizers Alliance emphasized the need for an urgent response from the federal government to counter the escalating threats posed to sacred places by climate change and fossil fuel extraction.
During his presidential campaign, President Biden made commitments to challenge the fossil fuel industry and swiftly transition away from fossil fuels that contribute to climate change. However, his administration has faced criticism from climate and environmental advocates for approving significant oil and gas projects, such as the Willow project in the Alaskan Arctic developed by ConocoPhillips. The Willow project is expected to yield up to 590 million barrels of oil over its 30-year lifespan.
The decision to protect Chaco Canyon is seen as a positive step, but some advocates argue that it falls short of fully addressing the climate emergency. Soni Grant, a campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity nonprofit, expressed the need for President Biden to fulfill his promise to end the fossil fuel era and ensure comprehensive protection for the entire Greater Chaco Landscape. It is crucial for these actions to provide communities with the means to combat the climate crisis effectively.
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