New Mexico’s Chaco Culture National Historical Park boasts dramatic cliffs, sandstone mesas and gently rolling hills. The park is more than a rich desert ecosystem; it’s also the ancestral homeland of numerous Southwestern tribes and protects one of America’s oldest national monuments.
For both wildlife and people, the national historical park is of incalculable value. And yet it is once again threatened by expanded oil and gas drilling.
Chaco Canyon today
Chaco Culture National Historical Park boasts natural beauty that has been treasured by people for thousands of years. It’s home to hundreds of bird species, pronghorn, rattlesnakes and bobcats. And because more than 91% of Chaco’s surrounding public land has already been leased to the oil and gas industry, the park is one of the last sanctuaries for desert animals seeking respite from surrounding drilling and human interference.
In 1993, the park designated the night sky as a critical resource to be protected. Untouched by light pollution, the park is one of the few places in the area to witness the majesty of the night sky. But opening the area to drilling would pave the way for smog, headlights and oil flares, all of which would dim the sky’s beauty.
The history of Chaco Canyon
Within Chaco Cultural National Historic park is Chaco Canyon, an impressive archaeological site. Between 850 and 1150 A.D. the canyon served as the hub of the Puebloan civilization and the homeland of numerous Southwestern tribes.
Pueblo Bonito, one of the Pueblo people’s impressive “Great Houses,” was built in the canyon and is believed to have been the largest building in North America until the invention of skyscrapers. Visitors often remark that what remains of Pueblo Bonito rivals other archaeological wonders like Machu Picchu and the Colosseum.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park was officially established as a national monument by President Teddy Roosevelt in 1907. Also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the park remains sacred for Indigenous peoples throughout the American Southwest. Thousands make the pilgrimage each year.
What’s next for Chaco Canyon?
Oil drilling could soon occur at the park’s doorstep.
In 2023, the Bureau of Land Management established protections from drilling for nearly 350,000 acres of public lands surrounding Chaco Canyon. But a bill working its way through Congress could roll back these critical protections.
Oil and gas development in the region already pollutes surrounding air and water and threatens the elk, bobcats, birds and other species that call the area home. Opponents to increased drilling argue that opening up even more land would put the area’s cultural, historical and ecological resources at risk; drilling would jeopardize the health of local communities, too.
Here’s how you can help Chaco Canyon
Chaco Canyon remains vulnerable to oil and gas drilling and deserves our protection, not just for its natural and recreational importance but also for its critical place in human history.
We must safeguard the region to both preserve its past and ensure that future generations may enjoy the canyon’s splendor.
Help us protect one of America’s greatest treasures. Urge your U.S. House representative to protect Chaco Canyon today.
