Trump's Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt could tear apart Chaco Canyon for oil and gas companies. Tell your senators to stop the destruction of Indigenous cultural sites and protect our public lands now »

There is a big opportunity in the fight to protect Chaco Canyon, friend. We just learned that the Senate is preparing to consider a bill in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee to permanently protect Chaco Canyon from fossil fuel extraction before the end of the year.

For millennia, Indigenous communities, including the Pueblo people, their ancestors, and the Chacoan people, have relied on the Chaco Canyon region. Chaco Canyon is so significant to their cultural heritage that UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site. Fossil fuel extraction around this iconic park would cause permanent damage — tearing into land that is sacred to Pueblo communities and jeopardizing their way of life.

We must support the Indigenous communities leading this fight and stop the Trump administration from selling out Chaco Canyon. And the best way to do that right now is passing protections for Chaco in the Senate.

I'll be honest, it won't be easy to pass this bill in a Senate controlled by anti-environment Republicans. But we also know that protections for public lands are enormously popular for both Democrat and Republican constituents — so if LCV supporters speak out, we CAN put enough pressure on our senators to act. That's why we're working to get 10,000 messages into the Senate before the end of 2019 — can you contact your senators now?

We CAN prevent oil and gas development in Chaco Canyon, but only if we push the Senate to act. Send a message now »

Pueblo communities in New Mexico have fought for years to keep extractive drilling and mining out of Chaco Canyon. Allowing more fossil fuel development would destroy sacred cultural sites and risk the health of nearby communities. If Chaco Canyon is opened to Big Polluters — just like gutting protections for Bears Ears National Monument and ignoring the concerns of Indigenous communities to the Keystone XL pipeline — it will be yet another attack by the Trump administration on Indigenous rights and sovereignty.

Here's the good news: There is momentum in Congress to protect Chaco Canyon. After thousands of LCV supporters like you reached out, the House passed the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act (H.R. 2181) — a bill that permanently protects areas around the Chaco Canyon from extractive drilling. With the Senate considering this bill so soon, we need LCV supporters to step up again because we have a real opportunity to permanently STOP any new moves to drill in this iconic National Park.

With the Senate considering this bill in committee, it's so important that senators hear from their constituents (you!) about how important protecting Chaco Canyon is. In these moments, every person that sends a message to the Senate can help. We can't do this without you, friend — please send a message now.

Contact the Senate to protect Chaco Canyon for generations to come. GOAL: 10,000 messages by 12/31 »

Thank you for joining the fight.

In solidarity,

Elizabeth Jacob
Associate Digital Campaigns Manager
League of Conservation Voters