The New Mexico delegation of two U.S. Senators and three House of Representatives spoke out against an environmental assessment of Chaco Canyon.Their statements comes as the Trump administration will do an environmental assessment of the Greater Chaco Region within the next 90 days. The Bureau of Land Management will only grant one week for individuals and organizations to submit comments before the planned environmental review. The Chaco Culture National Historical Park saw a 20-year ban prohibiting new federal oil and gas leasing within a 10-mile radius in 2023. The New Mexico elected representatives, who were all in office when the ban was enacted, fear the future assessment could reopen the historical site to the oil and gas industry once more. Below are statements from each member of the state delegation, voicing their concerns against oil drilling and gas leasing in the nearby area.U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich”Chaco Canyon is a living cultural landscape that holds deep historical meaning and is a sacred space for many of our New Mexico Tribes,” Heinrich said. “It is not just one more place to drill. The disrespect shown by the Trump administration toward New Mexicans seems to know no bounds.”U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján “Allowing just seven days for public comment on the fate of a 1,000-year-old sacred site is inadequate and disgraceful. I’ve spent my career working to secure lasting protections for Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region through real consultation and meaningful public input,” Luján said. “The Trump administration is doing the opposite — jamming a comment period into Holy Week and limiting public participation to online-only access, all while Pueblos are in the midst of preparations for sensitive cultural activities. This is unacceptable, and I will continue pushing back against this administration’s attempts to undermine Tribal sovereignty.”U.S. Rep Teresa Leger Fernández”Chaco Canyon is not just a place on a map, it is a sacred, living landscape that carries the history, culture, and identity for many Tribal communities,” Leger Fernández said. “We secured the protections for the Greater Chaco Region, which includes over 4,700 archaeological sites, through a thorough and inclusive process. The Trump administration’s rushed attempt to roll back the protections blatantly disregards the careful consideration that such a sacred and historical site like Chaco Canyon deserves. The administration is willing to destroy irreplaceable artifacts for a molecule of gas that could be found on other federal lands across the San Juan Basin.”U.S. Rep Melania Stansbury“Chaco Canyon is sacred. As the Trump administration rushes to push through oil and gas leasing in the greater Chaco Landscape, we know that today’s court decision is insufficient to protect this sacred place alone,” Stansbury said. “We need your voices and support to protect Chaco Canyon. This administration’s attempt to push leasing without comprehensive tribal consultation, the dismantling of lawful buffer zones, and a lack of meaningful engagement with communities threatens a landscape that has been home to Pueblo and Diné people for thousands of years, since time immemorial. That’s why we will continue to fight to ensure it is protected for generations to come.”U.S. Rep Gabe Vasquez”This administration continues to show its deep contempt for Indian Country, this time seeking to undo protections for the Chaco Canyon landscape, going against the will of New Mexico’s Pueblos,” Vasquez said. “Chaco is an irreplaceable and sacred landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a place that deserves protection. There are appropriate places to develop oil and gas, and this is not one of them.”
The New Mexico delegation of two U.S. Senators and three House of Representatives spoke out against an environmental assessment of Chaco Canyon.
Their statements comes as the Trump administration will do an environmental assessment of the Greater Chaco Region within the next 90 days. The Bureau of Land Management will only grant one week for individuals and organizations to submit comments before the planned environmental review.
The Chaco Culture National Historical Park saw a 20-year ban prohibiting new federal oil and gas leasing within a 10-mile radius in 2023.
The New Mexico elected representatives, who were all in office when the ban was enacted, fear the future assessment could reopen the historical site to the oil and gas industry once more.
Below are statements from each member of the state delegation, voicing their concerns against oil drilling and gas leasing in the nearby area.
U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich
“Chaco Canyon is a living cultural landscape that holds deep historical meaning and is a sacred space for many of our New Mexico Tribes,” Heinrich said. “It is not just one more place to drill. The disrespect shown by the Trump administration toward New Mexicans seems to know no bounds.”
U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján
“Allowing just seven days for public comment on the fate of a 1,000-year-old sacred site is inadequate and disgraceful. I’ve spent my career working to secure lasting protections for Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region through real consultation and meaningful public input,” Luján said. “The Trump administration is doing the opposite — jamming a comment period into Holy Week and limiting public participation to online-only access, all while Pueblos are in the midst of preparations for sensitive cultural activities. This is unacceptable, and I will continue pushing back against this administration’s attempts to undermine Tribal sovereignty.”
U.S. Rep Teresa Leger Fernández
“Chaco Canyon is not just a place on a map, it is a sacred, living landscape that carries the history, culture, and identity for many Tribal communities,” Leger Fernández said. “We secured the protections for the Greater Chaco Region, which includes over 4,700 archaeological sites, through a thorough and inclusive process. The Trump administration’s rushed attempt to roll back the protections blatantly disregards the careful consideration that such a sacred and historical site like Chaco Canyon deserves. The administration is willing to destroy irreplaceable artifacts for a molecule of gas that could be found on other federal lands across the San Juan Basin.”
U.S. Rep Melania Stansbury
“Chaco Canyon is sacred. As the Trump administration rushes to push through oil and gas leasing in the greater Chaco Landscape, we know that today’s court decision is insufficient to protect this sacred place alone,” Stansbury said. “We need your voices and support to protect Chaco Canyon. This administration’s attempt to push leasing without comprehensive tribal consultation, the dismantling of lawful buffer zones, and a lack of meaningful engagement with communities threatens a landscape that has been home to Pueblo and Diné people for thousands of years, since time immemorial. That’s why we will continue to fight to ensure it is protected for generations to come.”
U.S. Rep Gabe Vasquez
“This administration continues to show its deep contempt for Indian Country, this time seeking to undo protections for the Chaco Canyon landscape, going against the will of New Mexico’s Pueblos,” Vasquez said. “Chaco is an irreplaceable and sacred landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a place that deserves protection. There are appropriate places to develop oil and gas, and this is not one of them.”
