A federal court decision on March 31 could see land surrounding Chaco Canyon National Historic Park losing its public land protection, leaving more than 300,000 acres vulnerable to oil and gas drilling.
Chaco Canyon is located in the San Juan Basin, 150 miles northwest of Albuquerque. The surrounding desert landscape of Chaco Canyon contains rich archaeological resources and Pueblo and other Tribal nation’s cultural sites, which are still utilized today. Structures in the Chacoan landscape date back approximately 850 to 1250 years, to when the area was home to a social and religious center for the Chacoan people.
In 2023, the Biden administration issued a public land order to withdraw the lands surrounding the Historic Park from oil and gas leasing, with a 10-mile buffer zone.
While the order had support from pueblos with ties to the area, the Navajo Nation opposed the move and filed a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior in Feb. 2025, alleging it violated the tribe’s mineral rights. In October, the DOI announced that the BLM would consider revoking the protections.
Last week, the Navajo Nation and the Federal government settled the suit, resulting in Tuesday’s dismissal of the case. The settlement directs the government to complete a public consultation and environmental review to decide whether to withdraw the protection within 90 days, which began on March 26.
The required public comment opened yesterday and will remain open until April 6, giving the public just seven days to weigh in on a decision that may leave one of the oldest ancient Indigenous sites in the U.S. vulnerable to drilling and mining.
Public comment is available here.
Tribes and environmental groups have voiced their opposition to withdrawing the protections, including the All Pueblo Council of Governors,the National Parks Conservation Association, The Wilderness Society and the Conservation Lands Foundation.
“The Pueblo of Laguna remains deeply concerned about how decisions affecting the Greater Chaco Region are being made,” Governor Harry A. Antonio, Jr. of the Pueblo of Laguna said in a press release. “Revoking these protections cannot come at the expense of our cultural ties or through shortcuts that sidestep meaningful consultation and thorough review.”
A Colorado College poll released this year found that 71% of voters in New Mexico oppose allowing energy development on public lands near Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
The potential withdrawal comes on the heels of the long-awaited Oak Flat decision, which resulted in the area sacred to the Western Apache people being transferred to a foreign mining company with plans to mine for copper.
