We are deeply concerned that the Bureau of Land Management is leasing extensive lands around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park (Chaco NHP) for oil and gas extraction. In doing so, BLM is facilitating further development of a vast area that contains thirty-‐five Chaco Great House ruins and a vast network of ancient sacred roads. Chaco NHP is part of a World Heritage Site and the Chaco Protection Act acknowledges the critical importance of maintaining the integrity of the cultural landscape of Chaco's larger region.
I fear such energy development will have destructive impacts on the ancestral lands and fragile sites of the Pueblo and Navajo culture -‐-‐ some of the greatest archaeological treasures of the Americas with world-‐wide significance. We urge you to protect these unique places from oil and gas development as part of a management plan revision now underway within the region.
