U.S. SENATE News:WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich, and U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján urged Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to uphold the agreement to defer all leases on land near Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
The area is currently undergoing review by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to plan the best way to appropriately manage and protect this unique archaeological site and the surrounding land.
The BLM previously agreed to defer all leases within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Canyon until all Tribal consultation and community outreach has been completed and a Resource Management Plan Amendment (RMPA) for the San Juan Basin has been finalized. However, the BLM recently began the process of leasing areas within the 10-mile radius.
In a letter to Zinke, the lawmakers said, “This action would not only violate the previous commitment of the BLM and BIA, but the spirit of the ongoing joint public process which these agencies are conducting with the community…We further appreciate your recent public support for the BLM and BIA’s cooperative approach, and respectfully request that you maintain the status quo and defer any leasing within 10 miles of the Chaco Culture National Historical Park until the Final Joint BLM and BIA RMPA is finished.”
The analysis is the first-ever joint review by the BLM Farmington Field Office and BIA Navajo Regional Office. The lawmakers have praised the unique joint process, and have urged the Interior Department officials to ensure that oil and gas leasing near this iconic site is handled with the utmost consideration for Chaco Canyon’s archaeological value.
“New Mexico is a state with abundant natural resources as well as vibrant history and culture. The need to balance the use of our resources with the protection of our cultural heritage is no more clear than in the area surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park….These lands and sites are important to the Navajo Nation, whose lands surround the park, and several New Mexico Pueblos who consider the sites sacred,” the lawmakers wrote in today’s letter.
The request to continue deferring BLM’s leases in the area while planning continues is also supported by the Navajo Nation and the All Pueblo Council of Governors.
Full text of the letter is available here.
