The Biden administration on Monday will propose a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling in Chaco Canyon and surrounding areas in northwestern New Mexico, a sacred tribal site that also contains valuable oil and gas.
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President Biden will announce the move at the opening of the White House Tribal Nations Summit, one of several steps intended to strengthen the relationship between the federal government and American Indian tribes. Administration officials said Biden will also issue an executive order directing his Cabinet to develop a strategy to improve public safety and justice for Indigenous Americans.
The plan for Chaco Canyon, which is in the home state of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary, would direct the Bureau of Land Management to start the process for removing from leasing federal lands within a 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
“Chaco Canyon is a sacred place that holds deep meaning for the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors lived, worked, and thrived in that high desert community,” Haaland said in a statement. “Now is the time to consider more enduring protections for the living landscape that is Chaco, so that we can pass on this rich cultural legacy to future generations.”
The area now known as Chaco Culture National Historical Park was one of the hubs of the Ancestral Puebloan civilization from about 850 until it was abandoned in the 13th century, leaving behind its settlements’ majestic remains. The agricultural society built houses with hundreds of rooms, using sawed timber. Excavations have found elaborate pottery, conch shell trumpets, beads, turquoise and other artifacts.
The remains of these settlements are considered among the most important cultural sites on public lands in the United States. The plunder of artifacts from this area led to the 1906 Antiquities Act, which gives presidents the authority to designate protections for public land without congressional approval.
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The prospect of oil and gas drilling in the area has repeatedly drawn opposition from tribes and environmentalists. In 2018, then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke postponed a proposed lease sale on more than 4,000 acres in the region, calling for a detailed analysis of cultural sites there before the auction could take place. The Trump administration then released a plan to allow the drilling of more than 2,300 oil and gas wells in the area.
Late last year, Congress passed a one-year moratorium on drilling in the area. But tribal leaders and environmental groups say the landscape needs more permanent safeguards.
Part of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (Josh Brasted/Getty Images)
In the coming weeks, the BLM will set aside the land for two years as it conducts an environmental analysis and gathers public comment on the long-term leasing ban around Chaco. The proposed change would not affect existing leases or drilling rights, according to Interior, and would not apply to minerals on private, state or tribal lands.
Haaland also directed the department to conduct a broader assessment of the greater Chaco cultural landscape to “ensure that public land management better reflects the sacred sites, stories, and cultural resources in the region.” Interior plans to host discussions early next year with tribes and local communities on how to manage land in the area.
Biden administration officials also said Monday that they intend to prioritize improving public safety for Native Americans through new federal action. For years, tribes across the country have been seeking help with unsolved killings and missing persons cases within their jurisdictions. About 1,500 American Indian and Alaskan Natives have been reported missing and entered into the National Crime Information Center database, according to Interior, along with an additional 2,700 recorded cases of killings.
Biden’s executive order directs the Justice, Interior and Homeland Security departments to review federal and tribal law enforcement problems that hamper investigations involving killings or the missing. Within 240 days, the agencies are expected to provide guidance that will help tribal police respond to cases and work with federal authorities.
Complete coverage from the COP26 U.N. climate summit
President Biden will announce the move at the opening of the White House Tribal Nations Summit, one of several steps intended to strengthen the relationship between the federal government and American Indian tribes. Administration officials said Biden will also issue an executive order directing his Cabinet to develop a strategy to improve public safety and justice for Indigenous Americans.
The plan for Chaco Canyon, which is in the home state of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, the nation’s first Native American Cabinet secretary, would direct the Bureau of Land Management to start the process for removing from leasing federal lands within a 10-mile radius around Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
“Chaco Canyon is a sacred place that holds deep meaning for the Indigenous peoples whose ancestors lived, worked, and thrived in that high desert community,” Haaland said in a statement. “Now is the time to consider more enduring protections for the living landscape that is Chaco, so that we can pass on this rich cultural legacy to future generations.”
The area now known as Chaco Culture National Historical Park was one of the hubs of the Ancestral Puebloan civilization from about 850 until it was abandoned in the 13th century, leaving behind its settlements’ majestic remains. The agricultural society built houses with hundreds of rooms, using sawed timber. Excavations have found elaborate pottery, conch shell trumpets, beads, turquoise and other artifacts.
The remains of these settlements are considered among the most important cultural sites on public lands in the United States. The plunder of artifacts from this area led to the 1906 Antiquities Act, which gives presidents the authority to designate protections for public land without congressional approval.
Here's how Biden's unwinding Trump's environmental legacy
The prospect of oil and gas drilling in the area has repeatedly drawn opposition from tribes and environmentalists. In 2018, then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke postponed a proposed lease sale on more than 4,000 acres in the region, calling for a detailed analysis of cultural sites there before the auction could take place. The Trump administration then released a plan to allow the drilling of more than 2,300 oil and gas wells in the area.
Late last year, Congress passed a one-year moratorium on drilling in the area. But tribal leaders and environmental groups say the landscape needs more permanent safeguards.
Part of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. (Josh Brasted/Getty Images)
In the coming weeks, the BLM will set aside the land for two years as it conducts an environmental analysis and gathers public comment on the long-term leasing ban around Chaco. The proposed change would not affect existing leases or drilling rights, according to Interior, and would not apply to minerals on private, state or tribal lands.
Haaland also directed the department to conduct a broader assessment of the greater Chaco cultural landscape to “ensure that public land management better reflects the sacred sites, stories, and cultural resources in the region.” Interior plans to host discussions early next year with tribes and local communities on how to manage land in the area.
Biden administration officials also said Monday that they intend to prioritize improving public safety for Native Americans through new federal action. For years, tribes across the country have been seeking help with unsolved killings and missing persons cases within their jurisdictions. About 1,500 American Indian and Alaskan Natives have been reported missing and entered into the National Crime Information Center database, according to Interior, along with an additional 2,700 recorded cases of killings.
Biden’s executive order directs the Justice, Interior and Homeland Security departments to review federal and tribal law enforcement problems that hamper investigations involving killings or the missing. Within 240 days, the agencies are expected to provide guidance that will help tribal police respond to cases and work with federal authorities.
