U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), and U.S. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.) and Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) will join 20 Governors and leaders from the Santa Ana, Picuris, Cochiti, Zia, Tesuque, Acoma, Santo Domingo, and Laguna Pueblos to host a press conference on permanently protecting Chaco Canyon.
The press conference will be held at the Capitol House Triangle in Washington D.C. to urge Congress and the Trump Administration to uphold protections for the Greater Chaco region.
WHERE: Capitol House Triangle, Washington, D.C.
Speakers:
- U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
- U.S. Representative Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.)
- U.S. Representative Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.)
- Pueblo Governors and leaders
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.
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 is still in place but is under threat from the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress.
In April, Heinrich, Leger Fernández, Stansbury, and the rest of the N.M. Delegation reintroduced legislation to protect Chaco Canyon and the greater sacred landscape surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The legislation 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 June, Heinrich, Leger Fernández, Stansbury, and the rest of the N.M. delegation sent a letter to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Secretary Doug Burgum expressing deep concern over the Department’s actions to begin the process of revoking protections around Chaco Canyon in Public Land Order No. 7923.