By Stephanie Garcia Richard | New Mexico Land Commissioner
President Donald Trump doesn’t want our voices to be heard. So we need to speak louder.
The Trump administration recently announced an intentionally minimal 14-day period for the public to weigh in on his proposal to reopen the federal lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park to oil and gas drilling. He will not allow any public meetings for people to raise concerns in person. And no tribal consultation for Native communities to weigh in.
This is a slap in the face to New Mexicans and the countless advocates worldwide who care about the Greater Chaco region. A UNESCO World Heritage Site that was inhabited by humans at least 1,200 years ago, Chaco Canyon is held sacred by Indigenous nations, pueblos and tribes in New Mexico and beyond for its deeply significant cultural values. In 2026, the Greater Chaco landscape was named one of America’s most endangered historic places due to the risk that unchecked development poses.
As one of my first acts as land commissioner in 2019, I protected about 73,000 acres of state lands in the Greater Chaco Region from oil and gas development. The federal lands in this area have been protected since 2023, when President Joe Biden and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland issued an executive order removing over 336,000 acres within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park from mineral leasing.
Now, the Trump administration is senselessly trying to undo all of that progress and is giving New Mexicans very little time to weigh in on the matter.
Ending these federal protections would be a disastrous idea. Trump says that doing so would “unleash energy dominance.” But the administration’s own projections show that this move would result in very few new oil or gas wells over the next 20 years. In other words, Donald Trump is willing to do irreparable harm to invaluable cultural resources in exchange for very little, if any, benefit.
This is not merely an attack on Chaco Canyon. This is a direct attack on New Mexicans. Attempts to allow drilling in one of the world’s most beloved and sacred landscapes must not be taken lightly. I will keep doing everything in my power as land commissioner to stand up to the Trump administration’s threats to Chaco.
We need to make our voices heard loud and clear by July 29. Tell the Trump Administration to abandon their destructive efforts and keep federal protections for Chaco Canyon in place. We have added a link to the State Land Office website to help you find the public comment portal. Visit nmstatelands.org and click “Protect Chaco” on the homepage.
In your comment, tell the administration to choose the No Action Alternative, which would keep the current federal protections in place.
Let’s protect Chaco together.
This guest column originally appeared in the Albuquerque Journal.
