WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and co-founder of the U.S. Senate Stewardship Caucus, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.), hosted a press conference with Pueblo leaders on the next steps to permanently protect Chaco Canyon after the Trump Administration initiated the process last month to fully revoke the protections around Chaco Canyon by reversing Public Land Order No. 7923.
Located in northwestern New Mexico, the Greater Chaco landscape is a region of great cultural, spiritual, and historical significance to many Pueblos and Tribes that contains living sacred sites. Chaco was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and is one of only 24 such sites in the United States.
“Chaco Canyon is one of the most important living cultural landscapes on the planet with deep meaning for Pueblos and Tribal members across New Mexico. But right now, this sacred landscape is under threat by the Trump Administration,” said Heinrich, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and co-founder of the U.S. Senate Stewardship Caucus. “To deface and destroy this irreplaceable and sacred landscape is not only morally wrong — it’s utterly disrespectful to the Pueblos, Tribal Nations, and New Mexicans who have long called for permanent protection of the Chaco landscape. This is not about the past; it is about the generations to come. I will continue fighting to permanently protect Chaco Canyon because it is a place worth protecting.”
“Chaco Canyon is one of the world’s greatest treasures, and it must be protected for future generations,” said Luján, a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “What the Trump administration has done and is planning to do with regards to Chaco Canyon is deeply troubling and unacceptable. As a member of the House, I passed legislation to protect Chaco. Now in the Senate, I've introduced legislation to permanently safeguard Chaco Canyon and the Greater Chaco Region, and I will continue pushing back against this administration’s attempts to undermine Tribal sovereignty.”
“Chaco Canyon is not for sale,” said Stansbury. “It is a sacred and holy place, and we are going to use every tool that we have to protect this land—not just today, not just tomorrow, but for generations to come—so that children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who follow can return to these holy places themselves.” In 2023, the Biden Administration announced it would commence a 20-year Administrative Withdrawal of non-Indian federal lands in the 10-mile buffer zone. That welcome step has been successful and was in place until U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum’s revocation in late October this year.
In June, the N.M. Delegation sent a letter inviting Secretary Burgum to visit Chaco Canyon before deciding its fate and engage directly with Tribal leaders and local communities to hear directly about the profound cultural and spiritual significance of this sacred landscape. Secretary Burgum issued the directive to begin revoking the protections and decided the fate of Chaco Canyon without experiencing it firsthand. Following Secretary Burgum’s directive, the N.M. Delegation sent a letter urging the Trump Administration to reverse course on its decision to initiate the process to fully revoke Chaco Canyon’s protections.
In April, the N.M. Delegation reintroduced legislation to protect Chaco Canyon and the greater sacred landscape surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The legislation is led by Luján in the U.S. Senate and Leger Fernández in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The bill will prevent future leasing and development of oil, gas, and minerals on non-Indian federal lands within a 10-mile buffer zone around the park. This proposed Chaco Protection Zone will preserve the sacred sites and cultural patrimony within Chaco Canyon and the surrounding landscape for generations to come.
In September, the N.M. Delegation hosted a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol with 20 Governors and leaders from the Santa Ana, Picuris, Cochiti, Zia, Tesuque, Acoma, Santo Domingo, and Laguna Pueblos to demand the Trump Administration permanently protect Chaco Canyon and invite U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to visit the Greater Chaco landscape before deciding its fate. Watch the video of the full press conference here.
Last month, the N.M. Delegation sent a letter urging Secretary Burgum to reverse course on DOI’s decision to initiate the process to fully revoke Public Land Order (PLO) No. 7923, which currently protects the area around Chaco Canyon from oil and gas drilling.
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