Vasquez Urges Public to Protect Chaco Culture Park From Oil Development

One day remains to file public comments before the Bureau of Land Management closes its scoping window on a proposal to revoke the only buffer protecting Chaco Culture National Historical Park from new oil drilling. The April 7 deadline covers a federal review, project number DOI-BLM-NM-F010-2026-0002-EA, in which the BLM has listed full revocation of the 10-mile buffer zone as its stated preferred alternative.

Rep. Gabe Vasquez, whose district covers McKinley County, urged residents to submit comments before the deadline. "Chaco is an irreplaceable and sacred landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a place that deserves protection," Vasquez said. "There are appropriate places to develop oil and gas, and this is not one of them."

What revocation would mean in practical terms: the Greater Chaco region already hosts nearly 40,000 oil and gas wells, and over 90% of surrounding federal lands are already developed for energy extraction. Opening the remaining 336,400 acres within the buffer zone to new leasing would intensify heavy truck traffic already degrading McKinley County roads, add to the air pollution burden in a region already identified as the nation's largest methane hot spot, and increase pressure on water resources across the high desert.

The scoping window opened around March 31 and ran for just seven days, much of it overlapping Holy Week. Sen. Ben Ray Luján called the timeline "inadequate and disgraceful." The original Public Land Order 7923, signed June 2, 2023 by then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, was built on 150 days of public comment, eight public meetings, 1.5 years of environmental review, and nearly 100,000 public submissions.

Acoma Pueblo Governor Charles Riley, who carried a formal support resolution through the National Congress of American Indians, warned that the online-only comment requirement creates a "substantial barrier" for tribal community members. The All Pueblo Council of Governors, representing all 20 Pueblo Nations, has formally opposed revocation.

To submit a comment before the April 7 deadline, use the BLM's ePlanning portal and reference project number DOI-BLM-NM-F010-2026-0002-EA. Comments focused on air quality and methane health impacts, threats to Chacoan cultural sites and kivas, and the compressed tribal consultation timeline carry the most weight in the environmental assessment the BLM must complete within 90 days.