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SANTA FE, NM, April 7, 2026—In a special session of the Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners on April 7, Commissioners unanimously approved a letter to the Bureau of Land Management regarding the Evaluation of Potential Revocation of Chaco Withdrawal.

At stake is a proposal by the Secretary of the Interior to revoke the withdrawal of up to 336,425 acres of public lands located within a radius of approximately 10 miles surrounding Chaco Culture National Historic Park in northwestern New Mexico.

Commissioners came out strongly against the proposal in their letter, which was submitted to the BLM National National Environmental Policy Act Register as part of the open comment period which ends April 7.

The Commissioners’ letter is shared below, in full.

To Whom it May Concern,   

The Santa Fe County Board of County Commissioners writes to express its strong opposition to the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed action to open lands in the Greater Chaco Region to oil and gas exploration. We have convened an urgently called public meeting to ensure our formal position is entered into the record within the limited timeframe provided.   

Although the proposed project area lies outside our immediate jurisdiction, the Chaco landscape is deeply interconnected with Santa Fe County. Our residents regularly visit Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and it remains one of the most significant cultural, educational, and tourism destinations in the region. The impacts of industrial development in this area extend well beyond county boundaries and directly affect our communities.   

Santa Fe County is home to multiple Pueblo nations, including Tesuque Pueblo, Nambe Pueblo, Pojoaque Pueblo, and San Ildefonso Pueblo, and includes lands tied to Cochiti Pueblo, San Felipe Pueblo, Santa Clara Pueblo, and Picuris Pueblo. These communities maintain enduring cultural, spiritual, and ancestral ties to the Greater Chaco Landscape. The region is not an isolated archaeological site but part of a vast cultural system that includes roads, shrines, and sacred features extending far beyond park boundaries. Disturbance of these lands threatens irreplaceable cultural resources and living traditions. For the Pueblo nations of New Mexico, the Dine people living on the Navajo Nation and transmigrating urban Dine residents of Santa Fe County, and affiliated Tribal communities, Chaco Canyon is a living spiritual homeland, not an archaeological remnant.    

We are particularly troubled by the abbreviated public comment period associated with this proposal. Federal decision-making processes of this magnitude typically provide 30 to 90 days for meaningful public engagement under frameworks such as the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq. The significantly shortened timeline—occurring concurrently with major religious observances including Passover and Easter—effectively limits participation by affected communities, including Tribal governments. This raises serious concerns regarding procedural fairness and the adequacy of consultation obligations, including those under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, 54 U.S.C. § 306108.   

On the merits, the proposal fails a basic cost-benefit analysis. The Greater Chaco Region represents one of the most significant cultural landscapes in North America, recognized globally for its archaeological and historical importance. By contrast, the incremental energy gains from additional oil and gas leasing in this area are marginal in the context of current domestic production levels. The permanent degradation of sacred, cultural, and scenic resources cannot be justified by short-term, limited economic returns that primarily benefit a narrow set of private interests.   

Furthermore, industrial activity in this region risks cumulative impacts including air quality degradation, noise, light pollution, and disruption of fragile desert ecosystems. These impacts are incompatible with the preservation of dark skies, cultural integrity, and the visitor experience that define the Chaco landscape.   

We strongly urge the Bureau of Land Management to halt this process, extend the public comment period to ensure meaningful engagement, and fully evaluate alternatives that prioritize permanent protection. At minimum, this includes serious consideration of expanding protective buffers and incorporating these lands into a permanently conserved landscape associated with the Greater Chaco Region heritage area.   

The federal government bears legal and moral obligations that long predate this proposal and must govern this decision. The Snyder Act of 1921 established the federal government’s foundational duty to provide for the general support and protection of Indigenous peoples and their interests – a duty of trust that has never been extinguished. That trust responsibility, affirmed and deepened through more than a century of federal law, obligates the government to act as a genuine steward of Tribal welfare, not merely a procedural administrator. The American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples – endorsed by the United States – further affirm Indigenous peoples’ rights to access sacred sites, receive meaningful government-to-government consultation, and protect their cultural heritage and traditional knowledge.  

 The current approach reflects a process that appears rushed and insufficiently responsive to Tribal concerns, local governments, and the broader public. Such an approach undermines trust and fails to meet the standard of stewardship expected for a landscape of this significance. 

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