2020
27
Mar
Call to Action: Write Letters or Email to Help Protect Chaco
https://youtu.be/HPS0J4IGGB0
Paul F. Reed, Preservation Archaeologist
Go here for current information as of September 15, 2020.
(March 27, 2020)—You can act now to help protect Greater Chaco.
The push is on to get the BLM-Farmington Field Office and BIA-Navajo Region to postpone the May ...
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2019
26
Dec
Congressional Spending Bill Includes Protection for Greater Chaco
Congressional Spending Bill Includes Protection for Greater Chaco
The U.S. Senate has approved a $1.4 trillion spending package for the 2020 fiscal year. The White House has said that the president will sign the legislation. Importantly, the legislation includes interim protections for the landscap...
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2019
17
Dec
Why Protect a 10-Mile Zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park?
Paul F. Reed, Preservation Archaeologist
(December 17, 2019)—Recently, there has been some debate about the value of protecting a 10-mile zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park (henceforth Chaco or Chaco Park) and two of its outlying communities.
Some have suggested that a smalle...
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2019
10
Dec
National Monument Reductions, Two Years Later
Commentary: “Relentless assault” in the Two Years Since National Monument Reductions
This week marks the two-year anniversary of the Trump administration’s decision to decimate two national monuments located in Utah. With the stroke of a pen, the president removed protections on 85% of the Be...
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2019
05
Nov
Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act Passes House
Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act Passes House
A bill to establish a permanent 10-mile buffer around Chaco Canyon to protect it from oil and gas extraction activity passed the U.S. House on Wednesday with bipartisan support. The bill, sponsored by U.S. Reps. Ben Ray Luján, Deb Haaland an...
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2019
25
Jun
One-Year Moratorium on Chaco-Area Drilling Passes House
One-Year Moratorium on Chaco-Area Drilling Passes House
Today, U.S. House Assistant Speaker Ben Ray Luján’s initiative to secure a one-year moratorium on oil and gas drilling near the Chaco Culture National Historical Park was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Assistant Speaker Luján...
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2019
11
Jun
BLM Changes Position on Leasing within Chaco Buffer Zone
BLM Changes Position on Leasing within Chaco Buffer Zone
The Bureau of Land Management no longer opposes an effort by members of the New Mexico congressional delegation that would ban oil, gas and other mineral leasing within a 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. BLM ...
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2019
26
Feb
Public Lands and Repatriation in the News
Congress Passes Major Public Lands Package
“This robust, landmark package illustrates that it is possible for political agreement when it comes to caring for the country’s public lands that have natural, cultural and historic significance. The conservation gains in the bill are substantial, pro...
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2019
19
Feb
Chaco Landscape Still at Risk
Commentary: Chaco Landscape at Risk
What’s happening under Bernhardt’s watch in the remote Greater Chaco Area of northwestern New Mexico illustrates in microcosm why he is perhaps the worst possible choice for the job as top steward of our public lands. Chaco Canyon and thousands of Indigenous ...
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2019
13
Feb
BLM Temporarily Defers Leases in Chaco Buffer Zone
BLM Temporarily Defers Leases in Chaco Buffer Zone
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management reversed course Friday, saying certain land near Chaco Culture National Historical Park would no longer be offered at an oil and gas lease sale in March. Environmental advocates, tribal groups and Democratic lawma...
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2019
08
Feb
Archaeology Southwest Applauds Deferral, Will Continue to Advocate Protections for Greater Chaco
Although BLM has deferred nine oil-gas lease areas in the ten-mile cultural protection zone around Chaco and one of its outliers, Archaeology Southwest and its partners insist on tribal consultation and permanent protection.
Taos, N.M. (February 8, 2019)—In response to the Bureau of Land Manageme...
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2018
11
Dec
Do Better by Chaco
Commentary: Do Better by Chaco
However, outside the pueblos, little information is available about the Pueblos’ ties to the Greater Chaco Region that would enable the BLM to meet its mandated duties. Pueblo ethnographic information is scarce or entirely absent from the archaeological and academic...
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