Indigenous Leaders Rally to Stop Chaco Oil and Gas Sale

Navajo Chapter Presidents, Tribal members, and New Mexico Water Protectors call on BLM State Office to Cancel January Auction

Additional Contacts:
Daniel Tso, former Torreon Council Delegate, (505) 419-4343
Kendra Pinto, Twin Pines Resident, (773) 710-3065, kendrapinto@gmail.com


On January 25, 2017, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is scheduled to hold an online auction of 843 acres of public lands near Chaco Culture National Historical Park for oil and gas leasing. The proposed parcels have been challenged and deferred three times previously.

The BLM is currently amending its 2003 Resource Management Plan to account for the impacts of multi-stage fracking the Greater Chaco area, but the agency continues to lease public lands and approve drilling permits without safeguards for the culture, communities, and climate of Greater Chaco.

WHAT: Navajo Chapter Presidents will meet with BLM State Director Amy Lueders and demand she use her discretion to cancel the sale and protect public health and cultural sites in the area. A press conference with affected Navajo residents and Tribal leaders will follow. Petition signatures, resolutions, protests, and letters in opposition to the sale will be delivered publically to the State Director.
 
WHERE and WHEN:   
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
BLM State Office, 301 Dinosaur Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87508