Media Contacts
Ellen Montgomery
Director, Public Lands Campaign, Environment America
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sen. Ben Ray Lujan and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez introduced on Thursday the Greater Chaco Protection Act in both chambers of the United States Congress. If passed, the legislation will safeguard the cultural, historical and biological wonders surrounding Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. The bill supports years of efforts by Pueblo leaders, environmental advocates and elected officials to permanently protect the wildlife habitat, environmental resources and sacred sites in the region from damage from oil and gas drilling.
The bill’s introduction comes after the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) established protections from drilling for nearly 350,000 acres of public lands surrounding Chaco Canyon National Historical Park in June 2023. That action prevents new federal oil and gas leasing for 20 years, through 2053.
In response, Ellen Montgomery, Environment New Mexico’s public lands campaign director, issued the following statement:
“The great Chaco landscape is full of natural beauty, deep with culture and history. Oil and gas development in the region already pollutes air and water while threatening the elk, bobcats, birds and numerous other species that call this area home.
“Already 90% of the Greater Chaco Landscape has been leased to oil development, and more than 37,000 wells have been drilled, some near schools and people’s homes. We celebrated the BLM’s actions in 2023 as a much-needed step to protect Chaco Canyon, but permanent protections are necessary. Enacting the Greater Chaco Protection Act would safeguard the region’s biological marvels, cultural resources, sacred sites and scientific values and protect the health and well-being of local communities. We want future generations of New Mexicans and visitors from around the world to enjoy Chaco Canyon’s history, beauty and dark skies.”
