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U.S. NEWS Thursday 31 OcTOber 2019
U.S. House OKs protections near historical park in New Mexico

Associated Press the Navajo Nation and
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's pueblos.
Walls of stacked stone jut Similar legislation to create
up from the canyon floor, a protective zone around
some perfectly aligned with Chaco is pending in the
the seasonal movements of Senate.
the sun and moon. Circular The campaign to curb drill-
ceremonial subterranean ing in one of the nation's
rooms called kivas cut into oldest basins has spanned
the desert, surrounded by at least three presidential
the remnants of what histo- administrations. In recent
rians say was once a hub of years, concerns expanded
indigenous civilization. beyond environmental im-
Chaco Culture National pacts to the preservation
Historical Park is at the cen- of cultural landmarks.
ter of a decades-long de- The oil and gas industry
bate over how to manage has been operating in the
oil and gas development in San Juan Basin for nearly a
a sprawling area of north- century. Industry represen-
western New Mexico that is tatives have said existing
dotted by sites tied to the federal laws and policies
park but that lie outside its require extensive environ-
boundaries. mental and cultural reviews In this Aug. 10, 2005 file photo, tourist Chris Farthing from Suffolks County, England, takes a picture
The U.S. House of Represen- before drilling can happen of Anasazi ruins in Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico.
tatives on Wednesday ap- and that any sites designat- Associated Press
proved legislation prohibit- ed as culturally significant
ing drilling on the checker- as a result are respected. Torres, chairman of the All "We need the buffer zone ously close to Chaco right
board of federal land that Tribal leaders and environ- Pueblo Council of Gover- for sure," Torres said. "The oil now and that's what we do
borders the park. The lan- mentalists have praised the nors. wells are getting danger- not want to see."q
guage was included in a legislation, saying it would
spending package. better protect irreplace-
Federal land managers able sites beyond the park.
have been deferring inter- The measure calls for with-
est by the oil and gas indus- drawing nearly 500 square
try in parcels within a 10- miles (1,280 square kilome-
mile (16-kilometer) radius ters) of federal land hold-
of the park to address the ings, preventing future leas-
concerns of environmen- ing of mineral rights.
talists and Native Ameri- However, passage would
can leaders. The legislation not mean development
would codify that practice, comes to a halt. Most of the
essentially establishing a land within the protection
buffer around the park. zone belongs to the Navajo
U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, a Nation and individual tribal
New Mexico Democrat, is members who would retain
among the sponsors. He their sovereignty and prop-
remembers first visiting the erty rights.
park years ago when he Still, many allotment own-
was in his 20s. ers are concerned their
"There's something incred- holdings will be landlocked
ible, magical, spiritual that if the federal parcels are
you feel as you walk up to off limits. That would mean
Chaco, touch those stones millions of dollars in lost rev-
that have withstood the enue for some families on
test of time and you think of Navajo Nation, which has
all the people who came struggled for years with
before us. It's emotional," high rates of poverty and
Lujan said. unemployment.
He said he is confident the Environmentalists, archae-
legislation will have bipar- ologists and Pueblo lead-
tisan support. He pointed ers from elsewhere in New
to the willingness of Inte- Mexico for years have
rior Secretary David Bern- called for a drilling mora-
hardt to defer drilling leas- torium. Pueblo leaders say
es around Chaco while their cultural ties to Chaco
regulators prepare a new are still strong. Some also
management plan for the have concerns about pol-
region's resources. Bern- lution from increased drill-
hardt's decision came ear- ing.
lier this year after touring Some leaders met with Lu-
the world heritage site and jan last week while in Wash-
meeting with leaders from ington, including E. Paul