(C) Common Dreams
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Biden Administration Bans Drilling Around Native American Cultural Site [1]
['Coral Davenport']
Date: 2023-06-02
The News
The Biden administration took action on Friday to block new oil and gas leasing on federal land around Chaco Canyon in New Mexico, one of the nation’s oldest and most culturally significant Native American sites. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that her agency would withdraw public lands within a 10-mile radius of Chaco Canyon and the area around it, known as Chaco Culture National Historical Park, from access to new oil and gas leasing for 20 years, following through on a 2021 pledge by President Biden to protect the area from drilling. The move will not affect existing oil and gas leases on the land or drilling on private property within the 10-mile radius.
The plan laid out by Ms. Haaland, the first Native American cabinet secretary, came after decades of tribal requests. It is intended to underscore President Biden’s efforts to focus on Native American issues and expand conservation of public lands. But it has also generated opposition from Republicans and New Mexico’s oil and gas industry. The announcement comes during a week when environmental activists were enraged by the Biden administration’s move to expedite a 300-mile natural gas pipeline in West Virginia as part of the deal to raise the debt ceiling.
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[1] Url:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/02/climate/chaco-canyon-biden-protection.html
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