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photo of chaco canyon national park entrance for sierra club article on oil drilling in nearby communities

Chaco Culture National Historical Park is Northwest New Mexico’s San Juan Basin, where there are over 56,000 oil and gas wells and processing plants. Last month, NASA released a report that identified natural gas waste and methane pollution as major contributors to the methane cloud hovering over the Four Corners.

Now, the BLM is planning to lease 843 more acres of land in the Greater Chaco area to oil and gas developers at a Jan. 18 auction.

The BLM’s Farmington Field office has approved more than 360 new wells that use horizontal drilling in the Greater Chaco area under its outdated 2003 Resource Management Plan. The BLM admits it has yet to analyze the impacts of the fracking it’s permitting. Let’s demand that the BLM stop auctioning off our public lands.

Public lands are meant to be enjoyed by everyone and not prioritized for oil and gas development. The deadline for comments was September 2, but you can still add your name to the petition asking the BLM to cancel future auctions until the management plan is updated.

Don’t let BLM auction off Chaco to oil and gas
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