The Friends of Chaco is a non-profit organization that supports education, interpretation, and research programs for Chaco Culture National Historical Park (Chaco NHP), a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), whose land surrounds the Chaco National Park, has proposed a plan to guide intensive oil and gas development over a vast area of northwestern New Mexico. The Friends of Chaco are concerned that this development may extend into the core of the prehistoric Chacoan culture.
The leasing of extensive lands around the Chaco NHP for oil and gas extraction will impact an area that contains thirty-five Chaco Great House ruins and a network of ancient sacred roads. Chaco NHP is part of a World Heritage Site and the Chaco Protection Act acknowledges the critical importance of maintaining the integrity of the cultural landscape of Chaco’s larger region.
The Friends of Chaco has expressed its concerns to the Bureau of Land Management, and we encourage you to do the same. The BLM is soliciting feedback by COB on Wednesday, May 28, 2014, but you should feel free to express your views at any time.
Emails should be sent to: blm_nm_ffo_rmp@blm.gov
With a cc to Director Neil Kornze at nkornze@blm.gov
For more information on the plan for oil and gas leasing near Chaco NHP, visit http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/fo/Farmington_Field_Office/ffo_planning/farmington_rmp/rmpa_mancos.html
Photograph source: Flickr User Zeesstof (Creative Commons License)