Native News
Pueblo of Acoma Condemns Interior Proposal to Revoke Chaco Protections
The Pueblo of Acoma is sharply criticizing the U.S. Department of the Interior’s proposal to revoke federal protections for the Greater Chaco Landscape, calling the process rushed, inadequate, and dismissive of Tribal consultation.
On Wednesday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a draft environmental assessment recommending the full revocation of Public Land Order No. 7923, which since 2023 has protected approximately 336,404 acres of federal land within a 10-mile buffer surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park from new oil, gas, and mineral leasing for 20 years.
The public has until July 29—just 14 days—to comment on the proposal.
The Pueblo of Acoma argues the timeline falls far short of the years-long process that led to the original protections. Public Land Order No. 7923 was established after a 90-day public comment period, five public meetings, government-to-government Tribal consultations, and a full environmental review. The current effort to reverse those protections began with a seven-day scoping period followed by the two-week comment period.
“For Acoma, Chaco is not a distant place or an abstract policy question. It is part of who we are,” said Acoma Gov. Charles Riley.
Riley said Pueblo leaders have repeatedly requested government-to-government consultation with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and other federal decision-makers but have received no response.
“Our leaders have reached out to Secretary Burgum. We have invited him to come to Chaco and stand on that ground with us,” Riley said. “We have asked, repeatedly and formally, for consultation with the officials who will actually make this decision. Those requests have gone unanswered.”
The draft environmental assessment identifies two meetings with Acoma officials in December 2025 and June 2026 but characterizes them as informational sessions. Acoma disputes that description.
“Consultation is not a briefing,” Riley said. “It is not a meeting where we are told what has already been decided. It is a government speaking with a government, before the decision is made, with the authority to be affected by what it hears. That has not happened here.”
According to the BLM’s analysis, revoking the protections would result in an estimated 14 new oil and gas wells over the next two decades. The agency also concluded no new wells would be developed within five miles of the national historical park under any of the alternatives it evaluated.
The same assessment identifies at least 7,552 known historic properties and 145 traditional cultural properties within the protected area, while acknowledging much of the landscape has never been fully surveyed.
“We are being asked to accept the permanent loss of a landscape our ancestors built, walked, and prayed in, in exchange for fourteen wells,” Riley said. “That is not an energy strategy. Ninety percent of the San Juan Basin is already leased. Chaco is not what stands between this country and its energy needs. It is what connects this generation of Pueblo people to our ancestors and the ones that come after us.”
The proposal comes less than two months after the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2026. The nomination was submitted by the Pueblo of Acoma with support from the All Pueblo Council of Governors and numerous Tribal and preservation organizations.
During the seven-day public scoping period earlier this year, nearly 500 Acoma citizens submitted comments opposing the proposal. Pueblo youth canvassed the community, and tribal leaders organized forums for residents without internet access.
The Pueblo plans to submit formal comments before the July 29 deadline and will continue advocating for permanent federal protection of the Greater Chaco Landscape through the proposed Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act.
“Two weeks is not enough time. It was not meant to be enough time,” Riley said. “We will use every hour of it. I ask every person who has ever stood in that canyon, or hopes to, to speak now. Say it in your own words. Say what this place means to you. That is what carries weight, and that is what the record will show.”