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Dear Guardian,
The Greater Chaco region of northwest New Mexico won a hard fought reprieve from fracking this week and we have you to thank for this amazing victory.
In a stunning legal ruling capping nearly five years of persistent legal pressure, the 10th Circuit federal appeals court this week held the U.S. Bureau of Land Management illegally approved fracking in Greater Chaco and ordered a halt to further development of numerous drilling sites.
With Chaco Canyon of northwestern New Mexico at its core, the Greater Chaco region is the cultural heart of the American Southwest. A thousand years ago, the Ancestral Puebloans thrived here. Thankfully, this heritage will be protected.
This ruling would not have happened without the tireless advocacy of our Indigenous allies, including Navajo advocates Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, who led this lawsuit.
And it wouldn’t have happened without your support and commitment to WildEarth Guardians.
I can’t underscore how significant this victory is. For years, we’ve pushed back against fracking in Greater Chaco.
Together with our partners at the Western Environmental Law Center, Diné Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, we’ve defended this sacred landscape.
Sadly, we’ve had some defeats. Last year, a federal judge initially ruled in our favor, but then flip-flopped and ruled against us. Thankfully, the 10th Circuit set the record straight.
While the Trump Administration is pulling out all the stops for the fossil fuel industry, we’re pushing back and winning.
In Greater Chaco and throughout the American West, your support is enabling us to defend our climate, protect communities, and safeguard the cultural integrity of the landscape.
This is a big win for Greater Chaco and we fully expect to keep it up.
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