Contacts:

Antoinette Reyes, Southern New Mexico Organizer, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, Antoinette.Reyes@sierraclub.org
Erick Meza, Borderlands Coordinator, Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter, Erick.Meza@sierraclub.org
Sherman Neal, Military Outdoors Deputy Director, Sierra Club National | sherman.neal@sierraclub.org

Sierra Club Opposes Feds Seizing NM Lands for Border Wall

SANTA FE — The Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter stands with State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard in opposing the Trump regime’s plan to seize seven acres of New Mexico lands for Border Patrol facilities.

“The Trump administration’s move, after New Mexico was clear that NO state lands would be sold for border wall construction, is a violation of our laws and rights as a state. This is an
assault on our precious ecology, waters, and diverse wildlife through the corrupt militarization of our border communities,” said Sierra Club Southern New Mexico Organizer Antoinette Reyes.

On Friday the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the federal government would file condemnation paperwork to take the land near the Santa Teresa border crossing for border wall construction, surveillance technology and roads. This proposed theft comes after the U.S. failed to purchase the land in a fair deal with the state. The area in question is located in the NM Bootheel, in Luna County.

Land Commissioner Richard said she would use any available means to resist the “thugs” in Trump’s regime, citing that this land was granted to New Mexico in 1898 in order to raise money for New Mexico schools.

The Sierra Club opposes all despoilment of our lands and their resources. In addition to this latest outrage, the border wall represents a violation of human rights in the form of migrant deaths in the desert and ecological disasters in the form of water pathway and migratory wildlife disruptions. We urge our elected officials to join Garcia Richard in opposing the Trump regime and its attempt to steal land for its fascist agenda.
■ ■ ■

Additional Information about Border Environmental Impacts:

1. Arizona and New Mexico: Wildlife corridor in the Peloncillo Mountains on the Arizona and New Mexico border.

This wildlife corridor is important for jaguar movement and consists of specially designated Bureau of Land Management lands including Guadalupe Canyon Wilderness Study Area, and Guadalupe Canyon Outstanding Natural Area and Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The Peloncillo Mountains create a biological bridge between the Sierra Madre Occidental in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains. Far ranging species such as jaguar, and black bear used to be able to move along the Peloncillos from the mountains of Mexico north to the Gila River watershed.

The most spectacular example of this connectivity was the jaguar photographed in the Forest in 1996. The large male spotted here is believed to have moved north from a population in Sonora. The bridge of the Peloncillos straddles the eastern edge of the Sonoran Desert and the western edge of the Chihuahuan Desert, while the Animas Valley on its eastern side is the southwestern most extension of the Great Plains. Opening from the spine of the Peloncillo range south toward Mexico and Rio Bavispe, Clanton Canyon and Guadalupe Canyon contain excellent riparian habitat. These canyons support many species of concern, as well as the highest avian diversity, in the state of New Mexico. Many species of butterflies, most famously the monarch, also travel the continental pathway of the Peloncillos between the tropical south and temperate north.

There are very few mapped springs in this area which highlights the importance of the water sources like Guadalupe Canyon for wide-ranging wildlife and sensitive species like the Chiricahua Leopard frog and other amphibians that need to complete their life cycle in a water source.

Status and source: Under construction, on-the-ground reports, January 2021 (missing from CBP map )

2. New Mexico bootheel: Wildlife corridor in Hidalgo County

This wildlife corridor is important for pronghorn, jaguar, and the only white-sided jackrabbit locale in the U.S., and a migratory route for the Janos-Hidalgo international bison herd.

Status and source: Under construction, CBP map , January, 2021

3. New Mexico: Chihuahuan Desert wildlife corridor in Luna County

This 2-mile section of 30’ pedestrian fencing cuts through the rugged Carrizalillo Hills, blocking the movement of wildlife between the Sierra Alto mountains in Mexico and the Cedar Mountains Wilderness Study Area and extensive surrounding BLM public lands in New Mexico. Species affected include mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, javelina, gray foxes, badgers, mule deer and endangered Mexican gray wolves.

Status and source: Under construction, CBP map , January, 2021

4. New Mexico: Chihuahuan Desert wildlife corridor in Luna and Dona Ana Counties

This 34.6-mile section of 30’ pedestrian fencing blocks movement of wildlife between Mexico and the sky island mountain ranges of the Florida Mountains Wilderness Study Area and Organ Mountains Desert Peaks National Monument in southern New Mexico. Species affected include pronghorn, mountain lions, bobcats, coyotes, javelina, gray foxes, badgers, mule deer and endangered Mexican gray wolves. We recommend beginning this process by removing walls or conversion to wildlife-friendly vehicle barriers.

Status and source: Under construction, CBP map , January 2021

Contact: Jim Ekstrand
New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light, jim@nm-ipl.org, www.nm-ipl.org

Interfaith Climate Group to Walk 320 Miles from Permian Basin to Santa Fe in Climate Justice Pilgrimage

“A Pilgrimage for Our Shared Home” Calls on State Leaders to Protect Communities and the Planet

SANTA FE, NM – New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light (NM-IPL) announced “A Pilgrimage for Our Shared Home,” a 320-mile walk from the Carlsbad, New Mexico in the Permian Basin to the State Capitol in Santa Fe taking place January 12 to February 5, 2026. The pilgrimage will bear witness to communities suffering from climate impacts and join the call throughout the state to enact bold policies to protect people and the planet.

Three NM-IPL team members will walk the entire route, beginning in New Mexico’s oil and gas country and ending at the State Capitol. The pilgrimage will pass through areas where air and water quality are compromised by fossil fuel industry operations, uplifting the voices of New Mexicans affected by climate change.

“The Earth is our shared home, a sacred place entrusted to us across generations,” said Rev. Clara Sims, Assistant Executive Director, NM-IPL. “This pilgrimage is a spiritual and moral act of bearing witness to this precious and imperiled world. We walk to call our leaders to act with moral integrity upon the urgency of the climate crisis and its consequences for all generations of New Mexicans.”
The pilgrimage is supported by people and communities of faith across many traditions, with key support provided by The Journey Project of the NM Conference of Churches.

The pilgrimage will arrive at the State Capitol on Climate Action Day, February 5, joining a broad coalition of climate justice organizations and advocates calling on legislators to take bold action. There will be a focus on a renewed version of the Clear Horizons Act to be introduced in the 2026 legislative session. NM-IPL is a member of the Clear Horizons New Mexico Coalition advocating for this Act, which provides a regulatory framework aligning state and industry pollution reduction goals to meet greenhouse gas emission targets.

The pilgrimage aims to bring voices and stories of affected communities directly to legislators, urging support for the Clear Horizons Act and other policies that:

• Enshrine the fundamental right to a stable climate and livable future
• Develop a long-term strategic plan for a just transition to renewable energy
• Hold the oil and gas industry accountable for waste and pollution
• Protect communities from extreme weather events

“The Clear Horizons Act provides the critical framework New Mexico needs to hold polluters accountable and protect communities from the worst impacts of climate change,” said Desirée Bernard, Executive Director, NM-IPL. “We walk to express active hope in the family of humanity and pray for our elected leaders to have the political courage to meet the moment.”

“Our leaders have a powerful choice,” Bernard continued. “Remain beholden to the financial interests of the few or commit to the common good of all. We are part of a coalition uplifting stories of families who can no longer wait for positive change to restore health to the living systems within which we are embedded.”

The pilgrimage honors Indigenous peoples who have stewarded these lands since time immemorial and their legacy of protecting future generations. It is both confessional and prophetic—acknowledging complicity in systems of extraction while proclaiming hope for transformation toward a just and sustainable future.

How to Get Involved

Detailed route information and updates are available at www.nm-ipl.org/pilgrimage. Community members can:

• Attend a Send-Off event in Carlsbad on January 11 or Welcome event in Santa Fe on February 5
• Walk with the pilgrims on the final leg to the State Capitol on February 5
• Send prayers and blessings to be carried throughout the journey
• Contribute meals, music, art, or other creative offerings
• Donate to cover food, water, safety equipment, and logistics
• Follow virtually through regular updates

“This pilgrimage is a call to action for us all,” said Jim Ekstrand, Marketing & Communications Lead, NM-IPL. “It is a journey of hope, celebrating that a more just and sustainable future is not only possible but already arriving. We invite all people of faith and good will to join us.”

About New Mexico Interfaith Power & Light: NM-IPL is an interfaith organization spanning the New Mexico and El Paso region mobilizing people of faith and conscience to respond to the climate crisis. For more information, visit nm-ipl.org

About the Clear Horizons Act: The Clear Horizons New Mexico Coalition is a partnership of 35 climate, equity, social justice, and conservation organizations advocating for climate action. For more information, visit clearhorizonsnm.org/clear-horizons-act

About The Journey Project: The Journey Project of the NM Conference of Churches, funded by the Lilly Endowment, provides support to NM churches with opportunities to reflect upon their histories, mission and values, consider the role of the church post-COVID, foster spiritual growth and community building, and consider their outward ministries past, present, and future. For more information, visit: nmchurches.org/the-journey-project-home

Feds Move to Revoke Chaco Buffer Zone Trump’s Executive Oder “Unleashing American Energy” Prioritizes Fossil Fuel Pofits Over All Else

Tribal leaders and the state’s congressional delegation are expressing displeasure with the federal government’s plans to remove a 10-mile oil and gas development buffer around Chaco Canyon Culture Historical Park.

On Oct. 30, the Bureau of Land Management sent notification to tribal governments that it would begin the process of revoking the buffer. The buffer was announced in mid 2023 by then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. She cited tribal communities’ worries “about the impacts that new development would have on areas of deep cultural connection.”

BLM said its decision is based on President Trump’s recent executive order “Unleashing American Energy.”

The administration is moving forward with the Chaco plan despite Interior’s estimate that it would add only a few dozen wells to the area over the next 20 years, but which represent impacts to small communities, their health, and the greater Chaco landscape.

In response to BLM’s announcement, the Greater Chaco Coalition condemned the action.

In a release, it said, “Local communities have been experiencing a devastating increase in drilling activities that threatens their health and the health of the land. (We) once again call for holistic protections for the entire Greater Chaco Landscape and its communities, including an end to fracking, remediation and reclamation and meaningful investments in regenerative local economic opportunities and a just energy transition, grounded in the principles of free, prior and informed consent.”

The coalition also said the decision not only threatens irreplaceable sacred cultural sites, but  also endangers the health of the local Diné people.

“Again, we are back at potentially desecrating a spiritual and holy place on Mother Earth. All for greed and money,” said Hazel James-Tohe with Dine Matriarch. “Do we really want to see puddles of black oil and gas waste, destruction of the landscape and continue to breathe the toxic fumes that are a threat to all life?”

The state’s five-member congressional delegation also condemned the move. They said they have been in regular communication with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about the importance of protecting Chaco Canyon. They also have introduced legislation to try to make the buffer zone permanent.

Camilla Feibelman with the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club said, in part, “This is a stunning failure of governance and justice. … (T)he Trump administration is once again prioritizing fossil fuel profits over public health, climate stability and the protection of our shared public lands.”

From March 24th through April 2nd, I joined the Carrizozo Comecrudo tribe in their bridge to the Ancestors Walk / run across Texas, which the tribe hosted to bring attention to the impacts of oil and gas extraction on people, sacred indigenous sites, communities and our landscapes as a whole.

I came to the walk as an advocate on the New Mexico Permian Basin, whose fossil fuels run through the pipelines that impact so many. On the walk, not only did I get to meet amazing, passionate people; I also was given the opportunity to learn first-hand how oil and gas stemming from the Permian Basin is threatening the Carrizozo Comecrudo Tribe’s sacred sites, in addition to several communities.

We began the trek near Midland and Odessa. Many of the runners had a hard time adjusting to this dry, hot barren landscape full of pollution. Many of them ended up wheezing, and we had to buy oxygen to continue the run. It was unsettling, to say the least, that there was not a single bird in the sky, nor did we hear any for many many miles to come. Days later, many counties away, we finally began to see some wildlife.

I was honored to get the opportunity to hear indigenous songs as I carefully listened to the Tribes’ explanation of a phenomenon known as the Marfa Lights. We met with community members along the way. The buildout of oil and gas infrastructure from pipelines to compressor stations to LNG export terminals seemed to be endless as we crossed the state. I could see oil and gas flares in the distance. They were not only in the oil and gas drilling fields but also further downstream throughout the supply chain.

Despite the haze and destruction, there was beauty in the landscapes that have not yet been destroyed and in seeing where the Pecos River meets the Rio Grande to the habitat threatened by Space X at Boca Chica Beach near the location the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way we visited the ghost town of Terlingua, the national butterfly center, Eli Jackson cemetery, Boca Chica beach, South Padre Island, and powerful art installations in Laredo a and another in Brownsville which highlighted biodiversity and climate change. There is so much that I wish to share, but it could not be better said by anyone other than the tribe that allowed me to tag along:. We are not protestors, we are protectors!

To learn more about this journey and some of the sites along the way, please visit bridgetotheancestors.org

**See live updates of our press release here. 

On Thursday, the New Mexico Supreme Court affirmed the Public Regulation Commission’s order denying PNM’s application to transfer its interest in the coal-fired Four Corners Power Plant to the owner of the coal mine supplying the plant.  The court rejected all of PNM’s arguments and affirmed the commission’s decision in its entirety. Sierra Club had intervened on the side of the commission after strongly advocating at the PRC for denial of the transfer of ownership and consideration of the prudence of PNM investments in the plant. 

The Sierra Club supported the commission’s decision because PNM’s proposal would have kept the Four Corners coal-fired power plant polluting for years longer than necessary. PNM had proposed to pay $75 million to Navajo Transitional Energy Company, or NTEC, which owns the coal mine supplying the plant, to take PNM’s 13% stake in Four Corners off its hands. In internal emails obtained by Sierra Club during the PRC case, PNM and NTEC (which is owned but not run by the Navajo Nation) acknowledged that NTEC’s purpose in acquiring the ownership stake would be to keep the plant open and burning coal as long as possible.

The commission also ruled that in PNM’s next rate case (which is happening now), it would review the prudence of PNM’s expenses at Four Corners. PNM asked the Supreme Court to limit whether and how the commission can review PNM’s Four Corners expenses. The Supreme Court rejected that request. 

Sierra Club and other parties have already submitted evidence in PNM’s rate case showing that the commission should not force customers to pay for PNM’s unnecessary expenses at the highly expensive and polluting Four Corners coal plant. The court’s ruling paves the way for the commission, in PNM’s pending rate case, to consider that evidence. 

Four Corners is an aging, money-losing plant. Arizona’s utility commission in 2021 disallowed Four Corners majority owner Arizona Public Service from charging customers for hundreds of millions in previous capital investments in the plant. If the PRC makes a similar prudence determination, and APS and PNM can no longer charge customers for their bad investments, the utilities are much likelier to close the plant early and replace it with healthier and more affordable renewable energy. 

PNM tried to offload Four Corners before a prudence ruling prevented it from leaving ratepayers holding the bag. The Public Regulation Commission recognized and rejected that ploy, and the Supreme Court has now upheld the PRC’s wise decision. 

In response, New Mexico community and environmental groups issued the following statements: 

“Our communities have sacrificed much with the Four Corners Power Plant open for over half a century. Our elders and children are the most sensitive to health and environmental impacts that emissions spew into the atmosphere. The extreme heat from global warming is hurting our elders. The polluted air from burning coal drives asthma rates in our kids. NTEC wanted to run this toxic pollution from Four Corners with coal from their mine. That idea stops now as the decision will ensure the protection from NTEC’s conflict of interest to our tribal communities.”  Wendy Atcitty, Naeva, Indigenous Energy Program Manager 

“The Court’s decision is a victory for PNM’s customers. PNM had tried to prohibit the commission from reviewing the hundreds of millions of dollars in customer money that PNM has poured into the expensive and polluting Four Corners power plant,” said Matt Gerhart, Sierra Club Environmental Law Program Senior Attorney. “The commission can now undertake that review, and will hopefully hold PNM accountable for its wasteful spending at Four Corners.” 

“For PNM to try to get out of their ownership share of an old coal plant, by giving it to NTEC and the Navajo Nation is disingenuous,” said Jessica Keetso, Tó Nizhóní Ání Community Organizer. “PNM attempting to leave the Four Corners Power Plant to NTEC, to continue burning coal as markets for coal become unfavorable and then adding the hundreds of millions of dollars in liability and clean-up costs, will delay transition for the Navajo Nation as whole. The plant itself is also costly and will require significant maintenance and repairs. PNM still has the ability to take advantage of securitization, invest in renewables and move forward to cleaner and more efficient energy production; it’s just also important that the Navajo Nation follow suit so that decarbonization efforts are successful and ubiquitous across the Southwest. The New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision of rejecting PNM’s appeal is a step in the right direction and will allow Navajo Nation to focus on building a new workforce, supporting new economic opportunities and accessing clean energy sooner to revitalize not only our economy but also provide energy to the Navajo people.”

“The decision to reject PNM’s transfer of shares to NTEC is a huge win for Tribal sovereignty not only for the Navajo Nation but throughout Indian Country. The time has come to prioritize Tribally owned and operated clean energy projects— meaning from the top-down. This also means prioritizing community input and engagement. New Mexico is bravely stepping forward and committing to the clean energy transition, and now Tribes can lead this effort and stop investing in fossil fuel economies,” said Catherine Zingg (Ho-Chunk Nation), Director of Indigenous Partnerships at Vote Solar

“Today’s decision protects New Mexico ratepayers and Navajo people by not allowing a company that it cannot regulate to take over a facility at the end of its life and facing extensive decommissioning and cleanup costs. NTEC’s transactions have never served the Navajo Nation’s best interest and don’t require Navajo Nation approval,” said Robyn Jackson, Diné C.A.R.E. executive director.  

“This decision prevents PNM from passing off its responsibilities to see this coal plant all the way through decommissioning and cleanup so that we aren’t living with its pollution for decades to come.”

“Paying $75 million to transfer PNM’s ownership to a company that has promised to run the polluting, health-damaging plant as long as possible was simply against the intent of the Energy Transition Act,” said Camilla Feibelman, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter director. 

“The Supreme Court’s decision means PNM can’t charge customers to keep a money-losing, climate-harming plant open beyond its use-by date. This is a victory for the intent of the ETA to reduce climate pollution and protect consumers.” 

“PNM’s documents showed that the utility knew that the right way to exit its interest in the uneconomical and polluting Four Corners plant would be to see the plant fully or partly retired, but under pressure from Avangrid to ink a deal, PNM engineered a transaction that did the opposite, making it much harder to retire the plant,” said Jason Marks, a former PRC commissioner who argued the case for Sierra Club at the Supreme Court and the commission. “Now that the PRC and the Supreme Court have dealt a serious setback to the PNM/NTEC plan, we can hope that PNM will collaborate with its partners and stakeholders on a real plan for ending Four Corners’ carbon emissions.”

Contact:  

Camilla Fiebelman, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter, camilla.feibelman@sierraclub.org, 505.715.8388

Wendy Atcitty, Naeva, 505-716-3229, Wendy@naeva.org

Robyn Jackson, Diné C.A.R.E., 505-862-4433, robyn.jackson@dine-care.org

Jason Marks, Sierra Club, lawoffice@jasonmarks.com

Listen to the interview (28 min)

Pueblo officials support the Biden Administration’s 20-year ban on new oil and gas leases on land surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. The Pueblos see the land as sacred and have long pushed to limit outside intrusion from developers. They are at odds with the official position from the Navajo Nation, whose citizens stand to gain financially from new development leases. In addition the action has spurred an investigation into potential conflicts of interest by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, herself a citizen of Laguna Pueblo.

Guests:
Mario Atencio (Diné Nation), vice president of the Torreon Chapter
Miya King-Flaherty, organizing representative for the Sierra Club Rio Grande chapter
Bill McCabe (Navajo), principal of McCabe and Associates, a consulting business for tribal energy resource development and management
President Buu Nygren, Navajo Nation president

Listen to this episode (56 min)

Contacts:
Julia Bernal, Pueblo Action Alliance, julia@puebloactionalliance.org
Robyn Jackson, Diné C.A.R.E., robyn.jackson@dine-care.org

Greater Chaco Coalition provides a guide for initiative to truly “Honor Chaco”

Counselors, N.M.— Having monitored the progress of the Honoring Chaco Initiative (HCI) for 18 months, the Greater Chaco Coalition today shared recommendations on how the Department of Interior can ensure the initiative produces timely, durable outcomes that advance environmental justice.

Using a new collaborative process, the HCI is intended to bring federal agencies, Tribes, advocacy groups, and stakeholders together to address the need for lasting landscape-level management of the Greater Chaco Landscape. Alongside HCI, Interior Sec. Debra Haaland initiated a 20-year mineral withdrawal of federally managed minerals within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The Initiative is also intended to identify and address the cumulative environmental and social injustices experienced by communities in the hopes of adopting a management framework that builds toward a just and sustainable economic future.

The recommendations align with the coalition’s platform and were compiled in close alignment with recommendations from the groups that are involved in the ongoing phases of the Honoring Chaco Initiative.

In summary, we call on the federal agencies to engage in meaningful collaborative processes with Tribes and impacted communities so the cultural, spiritual, ecological, and economic characteristics unique to the Greater Chaco Landscape are identified to create a strong foundation for future land-management planning. The coalition also highlights the need for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to:

• Develop funding mechanisms to address legacies of pollution including the large-scale clean-up of oil and gas infrastructure and full remediation of abandoned and orphaned wells;
• Develop a new “New Mexico Greater Chaco Cultural Landscape Resource Management Plan” that encompasses lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management Farmington and Rio Puerco field offices;
• Define cumulative emissions thresholds as outlined in a recent 10th Circuit court ruling;
• Create and provide resources for a Tribal Advisory Committee and an Environmental Justice Advisory Committee to inform federal resource management; and,
• Pause all new leasing and drilling activities while the HCI and resource management processes are still underway.

Over last summer and fall, Interior convened HCI participants, which included members of the Greater Chaco Coalition to produce a situation assessment report and to initiate Phase 1 of the HCI meetings. As of now, it is unclear how subsequent steps in the process will unfold and how Interior will ensure HCI leads to durable outcomes for the protection of the Greater Chaco Landscape and communities.

Since the announcement of HCI, Interior’s Bureau of Land Management continues to rubberstamp drilling permits in the Greater Chaco region. Late last year, Interior defended a decision to approve Trump-era leases under flawed environmental analyses. Fortunately, the recent 10th Circuit ruling favored conservation groups’ arguments, finding that the agency violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to account for the air-quality and climate impacts of oil and gas fracking in the region.

While final approval of the mineral withdrawal is expected sometime this year, it is estimated to have minimal impact on oil and gas drilling in the region. Since 2015, Greater Chaco Coalition members have sent nearly two million public comments to the Bureau of Land Management calling for the agency to exercise restraint and restore the balance in the Greater Chaco region beyond the proposed 10-mile buffer around Chaco Culture National Park.

The recommendations shared with the agencies that manage federal and ancestral tribal lands should be a good starting point for environmental justice-based policies that can serve to protect the cultural integrity of the Greater Chaco Landscape.

###

Coalition member statements:

“While New Mexico is facing more climate devastation, the Department of the Interior and its agencies must implement swift and bold action to protect all cultural and historic landscapes. The Greater Chaco coalition feels that future landscape planning must come from holistic approaches including community engagement and environmental justice principles. We are at a pivotal time to begin the phase out of fossil fuels and hope that our coalition’s recommendations for the Honoring Chaco Initiative are held in high esteem”
— Julia Bernal, Pueblo Action Alliance

“It is our hope that these recommendations become a part of the HCI.”
— Samuel Sage, Diné C.A.R.E.

“Indigenous Birthing People must be centered in regards to environmental protections. It is our right to birth and raise our children in a clean, healthy and safe environment. All leasing and extraction must be halted until the cumulative impacts are addressed, and all contaminated sites are fully restored and remediated.”
— Beata Tsosie, Breath of My Heart Birthplace

“Chaco Canyon region is not for sale!”
— Hazel James-Tohe, San Juan Collaborative for Health Equity

“For too long the Greater Chaco area and its peoples have been sacrificed to extractive industries. The Honoring Chaco Initiative has a chance to mend broken promises in this region and end the era of sacrifice zones.”
— Melissa Troutman, WildEarth Guardians

“We urge the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior to consider and implement the recommendations provided within this letter. It is imperative that the health and well being of people and natural resources be held with respect and regard.”
— Mary Guiterrez, Earth Ethics, Inc.

“It is important to bring the land up to a pristine state so that the future generation can continue to live there for years to come.”
— David J. Tsosie, Diné Centered Research and Evaluation

“Through these recommendations, we hope to ensure that the Honoring Chaco Initiative results in concrete, meaningful, and just processes and outcomes that redress unjust colonial legacies of extraction and pollution, account for cumulative impacts across the Greater Chaco landscape, and advance environmental and climate justice now and for future generations.”
— Ally Beasley, Western Environmental Law Center

“We are at a fundamental crossroads to act on climate change and transition to an economically just future that prioritizes environmental justice. The Greater Chaco landscape and impacted communities have been sacrificed long enough. It’s time to end the sacrifice zones, and these recommendations provide a pathway for ensuring this region is fully remediated and protected.”
— Miya King-Flaherty, Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter

Featured image from Frack Off Chaco

This weekend the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (Esto’k Gna) is holding a youth-led, week-long run and walk from the Permian Basin to the Rio Grande Valley to bring awareness to the harmful, exploitative and unjust impacts of extractive industries on their sacred lands. The event, titled Bridge to the Ancestors, will start with an opening ceremony on March 24th at Monahans Sandhills State Park in Monahans, TX. Over the next 10 days, tribal members will visit eight communities, culminating in a celebration on April 2 in Port Isabel, Texas.

The #BridgetotheAncestors2023 will follow a path through the Tribe’s lands – honoring sacred sites, bringing awareness to the destruction of those lands from extractive industries, reaching out to affected communities, and sharing Tribal history and stories with youth from our Elders.

The walk/run will mirror (in reverse) the movements of the Tribe’s ancestors, as they escaped Spanish occupation of their homeland in the 1700s. It will highlight sacred sites currently being lost to extractive industries and show the adverse impacts of fossil fuels and petrochemicals on tribal and non-tribal communities.ach day will also bring awareness to an issue facing the Indigenous community:

• March 25: Missing and murdered Indigenous women
• March 26: Missing and murdered Indigenous people
• March 27-28: Land back
• March 29-30: No racist mascots
• March 31: Indian Child Welfare Act
• April 1: Missing children of the mission boarding schools
• After visiting the eight stops, there will be a closing ceremony on April 2 at the Port Isabel Community Center, in Port Isabel, TX. The Tribe is inviting partners, allies and members of the public to join the Bridge to the Ancestors run/walk. You can follow the walk at BridgetotheAncestors.org or on social media FB/IG/TikTok @Estok_gna_somisek

@Estok_gna_somisek will be sharing live updates everyday of the walk as well as using the following hashtags:
#BridgeToTheAncestors2023
#BridgeToTheAncestors
#CarrizoComecrudoTribeOfTexas
#SaveOurSacredSites
#RightsOfOriginalPeoples
#WeAreTheLand
#SaveGarciaPasture

Below you can find contact information for Tribal members, who can speak on the record about this event, and the unjust impacts caused by the industry on tribal land. As always, don’t hesitate to ask if you need anything!

EXPERTS:
Juan Mancias, Tribal Chairman of the Carrizo/Comecrudo Tribe of Texas (Esto’k Gna), onebigjuan@gmail.com
Christa Mancias, co-Organizer of the Bridge to the Ancestors Walk/Run, chrissysontirim26@gmail.com
Deanna Santiago, co-Organizer of the Bridge to the Ancestors Walk/Run, ladonadivina@gmail.com

Bridge to the Ancestors Walk/Run Location Schedule: The specific schedule and locations along the entire route are not being shared with the public due to security reasons, but journalists can talk to tribal members to learn more about the communities being visited each day.

• March 24: Opening ceremony: Monahans, Texas
• April 2: World Monument Watch Day and closing ceremony Port Isabel, Texas

CONTACT: Camilla Feibelman, camilla.feibelman@sierraclub.org, 505.715.8388

New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board adopts nation-leading air pollution rules for oil and gas operators

Conservation, public health, and community leaders from across New Mexico applauded the Environmental Improvement Board’s April 14 preliminary approval of final ozone precursor regulations for oil and gas production and processing. This includes nation-leading safeguards that address equipment leaks and malfunctions that account for 70% of the industry’s methane emissions.

This marks the second, complementary set of requirements in the Lujan Grisham administration’s groundbreaking approach to reduce air and methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. Combined with the ban on routine venting and flaring finalized by the state Oil Conservation Commission in March 2021, these rules hold oil and gas operators accountable for their pollution, limit waste, protect public health and combat climate change.

Methane is one of the key drivers of climate change. It is a powerful greenhouse gas 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. The New Mexico Environment Department will implement the oil and gas air pollution rules the EIB adopted today. The rules require oil and gas operators to inspect all wells for leaks on a frequent basis without exemptions and protect those living closest to development by requiring more frequent inspections to find and fix leaks in proximity to homes and schools.

The final EIB rules include key improvements supported by public health advocates, local communities and even OXY USA Inc., the state’s second-largest oil producer, that will deliver the strongest possible protections – especially for front-line communities living closest to well sites.

In response, community groups released the following statements: 

“As a frontline community member, I am encouraged that NMED and EIB took a needed step today toward providing protection for my, and many others, communities from air pollution from oil and gas wells. I have personally seen in the San Juan Basin the oil and gas sites venting methane and health-hazardous pollution through the lens of my optical gas imaging camera. Frequent inspections from operators and regulators will help tackle toxins threatening the environment and the health of those living among extraction. Thank you to the efforts of those involved, including Gov. Lujan Grisham.“

— Kendra Pinto, Earthworks

“Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Lujan Grisham, the state has taken an important step toward protecting New Mexicans from the acute and long-term impacts of oil and gas pollution and building a better, healthier future for our communities. Now we need the federal government to follow the state’s lead, banning routine venting and flaring, and requiring frequent leak detection and repair on all facilities and wells”

— Camilla Feibelman, Rio Grande Chapter Sierra Club

“Air pollution from oil and gas operations in New Mexico endangers the health of front-line communities and adds to the climate burden. We applaud Gov. Lujan Grisham’s leadership pushing for nation-leading rules to protect public health, tackle greenhouse gas emissions, and ensure that the oil and gas industry takes responsibility for its chronic air pollution. New Mexico can be proud that today the Environmental Improvement Board adopted strong rules that include our coalition’s proposal that protects front-line communities that bear the brunt of oil and gas operations’ harmful side effects.”

— Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, Western Environmental Law Center

“Protecting New Mexicans’ air from largely unchecked methane pollution will open new doors to a more stable climate and healthier future for our state. Thanks to the Lujan Grisham administration for stepping up to effectively hold the oil and gas industry accountable to reduce its air and methane pollution.”
— Kurt Gutjahr, Climate Advocates Voces Unidas

“The New Mexico Environment Department and the EIB deserve credit for strengthening air pollution rules that will protect the health of frontline communities, which are also impacted by the fossil-fuel induced climate crisis. Those communities themselves have been extremely important for ensuring that the ozone rules, combined with the methane rules approved by the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department and the Oil Conservation Commission a year ago, have positioned New Mexico as a leader on the way to a clean energy future.”

— Demis Foster, Conservation Voters New Mexico

“Cutting methane pollution is one of the best levers we have to reduce air pollution and fight climate change. With nearly 9,000 children under the age of 5 and over 78% of young kids living within a mile of an active oil or gas well in San Juan County alone, adopting strong rules that protect frontline communities is a breath of fresh air to parents around New Mexico. We are proud to see Governor Lujan Grisham and the Environment Improvement Board taking this opportunity to lead on ozone rules that help protect our children, our communities, and combat climate change.”

— Celerah Hewes, Moms Clean Air Force

“The standards finalized today represent historic progress for the health and safety of communities across New Mexico. Gov. Lujan Grisham’s administration is showing the ambition needed to stop unchecked oil and gas pollution, increase energy security, protect public health and tackle the climate crisis. NMED’s rules, which address outsized emissions from smaller, leak-prone wells and protect those living closest to development with more frequent inspections to find and fix leaks, offer a powerful example for the EPA to build on as it advances nationwide methane protections.”
— Jon Goldstein, Environmental Defense Fund