Greater Chaco Coalition Reaffirms Position on Chaco Protection Act, Urges Broad Protections for Landscape, Communities, and Climate

In response to the reintroduction of the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act today, the Greater Chaco Coalition reaffirms its statement from November 2022 when the Act was last introduced and urges President Biden to take immediate action to protect the entire Greater Chaco Landscape and end fossil fuel leasing across the country:

While the Chaco Cultural Heritage Protection Act is a step in the right direction, much broader measures are needed to protect communities, public health, and the climate from the
cumulative and widespread impacts of oil and gas extraction on the Greater
Chaco Landscape.

This region has been treated as a sacrifice zone for far too
long. It’s time for federal and state agencies and elected leaders to live up
to their promises and take meaningful steps to permanently protect the Greater
Chaco Landscape as a whole, putting Tribes, Pueblos, and impacted communities
first.

The Greater Chaco Coalition will continue to advocate for permanent landscape-level protections through the Department of the Interior’s ongoing Honoring Chaco Initiative, holding
officials accountable to the Initiative’s promises of finally addressing environmental
justice for Greater Chaco.