Art de la Cruz House District 12 | Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter
Members of the Greater Chaco Coalition have expressed approval for President Joe Biden and Department of the Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's recent announcement. The administration plans to address environmental justice and tribal consultation in the Greater Chaco region by initiating a collaborative landscape-level planning process in 2022 with tribes, elected officials, communities, and stakeholders.
The federal government has historically treated the Greater Chaco Landscape as a national energy sacrifice zone. This area has experienced extensive resource exploitation and a history of Navajo displacement and land dispossession. Currently, over 91% of available lands in northwestern New Mexico's Greater Chaco area are leased for oil and gas extraction.
Since 2015, organizations such as the National Congress of American Indians, All Pueblo Council of Governors, Navajo Nation, and members of the Greater Chaco Coalition have advocated against unchecked oil and gas extraction in this region. They have urged federal agencies to fulfill promises regarding meaningful landscape management.
Daniel Tso, Chairman of the Navajo Nation Health Education and Human Services Committee, stated: "For too many years, the Navajo Nation has been assaulted by waves of resource exploitation... Our work to protect the Greater Chaco Landscape started in earnest when seven matriarchs... demanded action be taken."
Diné Allottees Against Oil Exploitation (DAoX) welcomed President Biden's action to protect not only a buffer around Chaco Canyon but also the entire Greater Chaco Landscape. Members Paul and Mary Ann Atencio noted that their rights as landowners had been impacted by fracking activities.
Mario Atencio from Diné CARE commented on Biden’s promise: "President Biden’s promise to protect not just the Chaco Culture National Historical Park but the Greater Chaco Landscape promises to end... Diné communities serving as sacrifice zones for oil and gas 'development'."
Julia Bernal from Pueblo Action Alliance praised efforts to protect ancestral homelands while addressing fossil fuel infrastructure impacts: "Pueblo Action Alliance applauds... Secretary Haaland for taking an active step."
Additional statements came from various coalition members emphasizing cultural protection needs alongside broader landscape-level protections across this sacred region.
