The Department of the Interior has taken initial steps to protect Chaco Culture National Historical Park by issuing a 20-year administrative withdrawal that bans new oil and gas drilling and fracking on unleased federal lands within a 10-mile buffer. 

While steps have been taken to protect certain areas of Greater Chaco from industrial exploitation, more needs to be done to truly safeguard the safety and well-being of this cultural landscape and surrounding communities.

That’s why we’ve join with partners, including Navajo Nation, Diné C.A.R.E., Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth, in support of the Honoring Chaco Initiative (HCI) which would end all new oil and gas drilling and fracking from the region, phasing out existing extraction activities, and establishing Tribal co-management strategies for the future.

“Native Organizers Alliance stands in unity with the Greater Chaco Coalition in their call on the Department of Interior to recommit to the Honoring Chaco Initiative. The DOI must respond with action immediately to stop permitting new extraction, restore our lands, and put Tribal co-management at the center of a just transition and sustainable economic future. Ending the harmful resource extraction, which has significant impacts on the health of local Native communities across generations, will have long-lasting positive improvements if the DOI actively engages Native communities who live and work in the Greater Chaco region to establish an effective Tribal co-management plan.”

Carol Davis, Managing Director of Native Organizers Alliance