* Editor’s note: This story has been updated with info from NMOGA
CUBA, N.M. (KRQE) – Key pieces of land are now protected from oil and gas development in the near future. The protection comes from a new public land order from New Mexican leader of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Deb Haaland.
Under the order, about 336,404 acres of federal land around Chaco Culture National Historic Park are off limits to mining and leasing for 20 years. “The purpose of this withdrawal is to protect these public lands and the greater connected landscape with a rich Puebloan, Tribal Nation, and cultural legacy,” the order notes.
While the order prevents new oil and gas extraction leases, it does not cancel existing ones on the federal land. It also does not have any impact on state, tribal, or private lands.
The latest leasing ban has prompted praise from advocates, particularly because the decision included input from tribal leaders and members of the public. “I’m grateful that the Interior Department has taken the proper steps to solicit public opinion on this withdrawal,” the Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said in a press release. “New Mexicans support this step and will be pleased to see Chaco Canyon protected from oil and gas activity.”
The rule was also praised by New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham: “This decision speaks loud and clear: tribal voices must be involved, must be heard and must be valued. Thousands of archaeological sites too important to be put at risk by mining and drilling are now protected for generations to come,” the governor said in a press release.
Some advocates, however, say the decision doesn’t go far enough. “This is a welcome first step, but the Biden administration needs to follow up by ending all fossil fuel leasing on public lands and phasing out extraction,” Soni Grant, the New Mexico campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a press release. “It’s high time that Biden lives up to his promise to end the fossil fuel era, and it’s critical that the entire Greater Chaco Landscape is protected. Today’s decision just isn’t enough to give our communities a fighting chance against the climate emergency.”
And some are concerned that the leasing ban could have a negative economic impact. Joe Vigil, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, says the leasing ban could cost the Navajo Nation more than $100 million in royalties over the next 20 years, citing data presented in a resolution by the Navajo Nation Council.
Although the recent leasing ban does not apply to Native lands, Vigil says Navajo members might not be able to get the full economic benefit of their lands because the leasing ban will make accessing and drilling on Navajo land more difficult.
