The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced this week a proposal to revoke a 2023 public land order that bars new oil and gas drilling on more than 336,000 acres surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico.

The Farmington Field Office launched a public scoping period on March 31 for an environmental assessment evaluating the potential revocation of Public Land Order No. 7923. That order, issued under the Biden administration in June 2023, withdrew approximately 336,404 acres within a 10-mile buffer around the park from new mineral leasing and mining for 20 years, while allowing existing rights to continue. The BLM's preferred alternative would fully revoke the withdrawal, restoring the agency's discretion over leasing and opening the lands to oil and gas development under the 2003 Farmington Resource Management Plan.

Two other options under consideration include maintaining the current protections or partially revoking the order to allow leasing beyond a five-mile buffer. Public comments on the scoping are due by April 7 and can be submitted online through the BLM's ePlanning website. A draft environmental assessment will follow with another comment period.

The move stems from a broader Trump administration review of recent land withdrawals, initiated by Executive Order 14154 in January 2025 and a BLM notification to tribal governments on October 30, 2025. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has directed evaluations of such orders, including this one protecting the UNESCO World Heritage Site sacred to numerous Pueblo and Navajo communities.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves ancient Puebloan great houses, roads, and over 4,700 archaeological sites across the Greater Chaco Landscape in San Juan County. The San Juan Basin already hosts nearly 40,000 oil and gas wells, with more than 90 percent of the surrounding federal lands leased, making it a key energy-producing area.

New Mexico's congressional delegation swiftly condemned the proposal. Sen. Martin Heinrich stated, "Chaco Canyon is a living cultural landscape that holds deep historical meaning and is a sacred space for many of our New Mexico tribes. It is not just one more place to drill." Sen. Ben Ray Luján called the short, online-only comment period during Holy Week "inadequate and disgraceful," accusing the administration of undermining tribal sovereignty.

Navajo leaders have mixed views, with some opposing the full 10-mile buffer due to lost royalties for tribal allottees, though many Pueblos support permanent protections. The delegation has reintroduced the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act and urged Burgum to visit the site.

The BLM emphasized that the scoping will help refine the analysis ahead of a final decision expected within 90 days.