Biden orders 20-year ban on oil, gas drilling to protect tribal sites outside New Mexico’s Chaco

By MORGAN LEE
Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The Biden administration is withdrawing hundreds of square miles in New Mexico from oil and gas production for the next 20 years on the outskirts of Chaco Culture National Historical Park that tribal communities consider sacred. The action Friday by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland is intended to protect cultural and historic resources that tribal communities consider sacred. The order will apply only to public lands and federal mineral rights within a 10-mile radius. President Joe Biden initially proposed this ban in November 2021 at the White House Tribal Nations Summit. Navajo Nation leaders are concerned about economic consequences of the decision.