A cherished landscape gained a measure of new protection this month when Interior Secretary Deb Haaland signed an order creating a 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco Culture National Historical Park that precludes future oil and gas leasing. The decision culminates a yearslong campaign initiated by Puebloan tribes, local Navajo communities, archaeologists, and conservation advocates.
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit heard oral arguments related to the Trump administration’s illegal approval of more than 370 drilling permits in the Greater Chaco region of northwest New Mexico. Attorneys with the Biden administration defended the…
This week the Biden administration took action to safeguard lands surrounding Chaco Canyon from impacts associated with encroaching oil and gas extraction. The Department of Interior announced a two-year moratorium on new oil and gas leasing within the 10-mile zone…
While much of the country grapples with the coronavirus pandemic, it’s full speed ahead at the Department of Interior approving oil and gas development projects. One of the most contentious is a proposal for over 3,000 new oil and gas…
Communities living near oil and gas wells already suffer the effects of poor air quality due to venting and flaring of toxic are emissions, increased rates of cancer and asthma, and unsafe traveling conditions – now the Bureau of Land Management…
Is it everything we hope for? No, but it is undoubtedly a significant step forward. We’ll continue to use all the tools we have to fight for permanent protections in the region. Check out the full press release below with…
We’ve been working to protect Greater Chaco from rampant and unchecked oil and gas development for over a decade. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has long failed to conduct any sort of meaningful tribal consultations or robust environmental or cultural resource…
Photo: Wildearth Guardians Even a court ruling doesn’t seem to deter the Bureau of Land Management in Farmington. They are determined to push through industry wish lists, undermining environmental review, public input, and even the courts. We’ll continue calling them…
Photo: Rob Zeigler It’s certainly promising, if not surprising, that Department of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is making promises to protect Greater Chaco. We’re grateful to Senator Heinrich for playing a key role in orchestrating Bernhardt’s visit to Chaco Cultural…
Photo: Robert Zeigler Earlier this month a federal appeals court granted Greater Chaco a a long-overdue reprieve from unchecked fracking in response to a lawsuit we filed with our partners. The courts decision directly overturned a couple dozen permits, but we…
This is great news! Momentum in our decade-long effort to protect Greater Chaco from unbridled (and illegal) oil and gas development is finally resulting in real gains. Back in 2015, along with our partners, we filed a lawsuit against the…
Real progress is being made toward protecting Greater Chaco! Last month a Congressional visit welcomed lawmakers to the region to learn about the impacts of oil and gas development and the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act was re-introduced. At the…
Anyone who has traveled the U.S. Highway 550 corridor to Albuquerque recently knows for themselves the extent of greatly expanded drilling activity. Advances in fracking technology have unlocked access to oil deposits tightly trapped in the Mancos and Gallup shale…
We were thrilled to welcome members of Congress to Chaco to experience the incredible landscape, learn about the history, and hear from impacted community members firsthand. We are confident they now have a deeper understanding of the issues here and…
More than 92% of Greater Chaco has already been leased. Over the last several years, this leasing has moved forward despite the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) not having a plan in place to protect modern native communities, their history,…
“This lease sale is just another example of the BLM putting the cart before the horse. We’ve been waiting for years for the BLM to complete its Resource Management Plans for the Greater Chaco. But the agency continues to allow…
It is completely indefensible to continue to lease parcels in Greater Chaco to oil and gas without having a plan in place to ensure protections for air, water, public health, and the rich history embedded in the landscape. TheBureau of…
It’s time to speak out in defense of Greater Chaco again. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington and Rio Puerco field offices in northwestern New Mexico continue to allow oil and gas companies to frack without a plan in…
Elections matter. That fact is being clearly made in New Mexico, where the public voted in a new administration with vastly different values when it comes to our public lands, among other things. We are thrilled that the new administration…
Photo: WildEarth Guardians We’ve been working to protect the Greater Chaco region from rampant and largely uncontrolled drilling for over ten years. Sadly, the need for protections is only increasing. Our partners organized a rally of over 200 people to…
Photo: Rob Zeigler Last spring, Secretary Zinke instructed the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to defer a lease sale in the Greater Chaco region due to a need for “more study.” This December, they plan to auction those same parcels…
Zinke’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold a lease sale in Greater Chaco this December, despite failing to conduct tribal consultations they deemed necessary when cancelling the much smaller March 2018 lease in the region. Along with our partners,…
As most of you know, the Alliance has been working for over a decade to secure greater protections for Greater Chaco – it’s water, air, cultural resources and the health and safety of native communities living there today. We have…
Over the past weekend, we had a partial win in our long fight to protect Chaco from unfettered oil and gas development. While the judge rejected our claim that the Bureau of Land Management violated the National Environmental Protection Act…
Five years versus five days. That succinctly describes the different weights accorded to constituents raising objections to expanded oil and gas leasing in landscapes with special circumstances. As the Trump administration attempts to accelerate energy development through its self-described energy…
Last night, we heard news we didn’t dare hope for: Secretary Zinke canceled next week’s oil and gas lease sale in Greater Chaco. This is because of you. You and thousands of others who spoke up and said drilling without a…
Photo: Rob Zeigler The BLM is going further and further out of its way to avoid public input, but we’re not going to let them get away with it. When they released the protests for the March 2018 lease sale,…
Give public comment for community protections 3-3:30 PM Rally outside (to make sure the public is heard): 4PM The Farmington District Resource Advisory Council (RAC) is holding a *public* meeting on January 30 from 8AM-4PM at the BLM Farmington District…
This is our last chance to submit scoping comments on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) plan for oil and gas leasing in Greater Chaco. The BLM is telling us they don’t have a choice, that they have to lease: This is…
On Tuesday, four Navajo Nation chapter presidents, impacted community members, and one NM State Representative met with State Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Director Amy Lueders. The group requested a cancellation of the January 2017 oil and gas lease sale…
Chaco just got a huge break. Friday afternoon, Saddle Butte San Juan Midstream LLC (“Saddle Butte”) withdrew their proposal for the Piñon Gathering System Project, better know as the Piñon Pipeline, in northwest New Mexico. The 150-mile pipeline would have carried 50,000 barrels per…
This is getting ridiculous. This week, with many partners, we submitted our protest to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office’s January 2017 oil and gas lease sale – a lease sale that shouldn’t be happening in the first place….
What changed? Right now, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office (FFO) is amending its 2003 Resource Management Plan (RMP) to include new industrial fracking in Greater Chaco. The process recently reopened for official public comment until December…
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field Office has agreed that their 2003 Resource Management Plan (RMP) does not sufficiently plan for fracking around Chaco Canyon. Yet, while they amend their RMP to reflect this awareness, they are still approving…
It’s easy to overlook what’s happening in oil and gas fields. Most of us don’t live at ground zero and the pollution is often invisible to the human eye. So, last weekend SJCA bussed folks from Durango, CO 45-miles south to Bloomfield, NM. We examined…
This week we received evidence of a local public servant sacrificing the public interest for personal gain. Federal investigators released results of their inquiry into Steve Henke’s conduct while head of New Mexico’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Farmington Field…
Yesterday, Chaco got a moment to breathe. BLM’s Farmington Field Office announced it would not auction parcels in Greater Chaco for fracking leases as planned in October. This is the third time the sale of these three parcels has been postponed….
The Bureau of Land Management in Farmington, NM hasn’t updated it’s 2003 Resource Management Plan (RMP) since horizontal fracking technologies became viable in the Four Corners. Currently, they are revising the RMP to reflect these new technologies. Yet, at the…
Apparently some decisions are more final than others. Along with our partners, we have long demanded the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) halt all fracking in the Greater Chaco region, at least until an adequate management plan is in place…
BLM deferred the sale of three oil and gas lease parcels near Chaco Canyon … again. It’s the third time. The deferment is a huge win, and it clearly illustrates the need for the BLM to complete its ongoing Resource Management Plan Amendment. As…
The Alliance has been working to protect the Greater Chaco region from unchecked and unplanned oil and gas development for years. Our request to halt all drilling in the Greater Chaco region while our lawsuit makes its way through the courts was…
