The Chaco Cultural Heritage Protection Act would permanently prohibit leasing of federal oil, gas, and minerals within a ten-mile buffer zone.

Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** New Mexico lawmakers introduce bill to permanently protect Chaco
------------------------------------------------------------
Friday, November 18, 2022
Pueblo Alto, Chaco Culture National Historic Park, National Park Service ([link removed])

Members of New Mexico's congressional delegation introduced a bill ([link removed]) to permanently withdraw federal lands from mineral leasing within ten miles of Chaco Culture National Historic Park. The Chaco Cultural Heritage Protection Act, led by Senator Ben Ray Luján, would permanently prohibit leasing of federal oil, gas, and minerals within the ten-mile buffer zone. The landscape surrounding the park is of cultural and historical significance to several Tribes and Pueblos.

The announcement follows the release last week ([link removed]) of an environmental assessment conducted by the Bureau of Land Management of the potential impacts of a 20-year mineral withdrawal that was announced ([link removed]) by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland last November and formally proposed ([link removed]) by the Bureau of Land Management in January of this year. The assessment found that about 47 wells would be blocked by the mineral withdrawal, and that oil and gas production would be reduced by only about 2.5 percent.

Both the administrative 20-year mineral withdrawal and the legislative permanent withdrawal would apply only to federal lands, in an area with multiple different landownership types occurring in a checkerboard pattern. The state of New Mexico has temporarily banned oil and gas drilling ([link removed]) on state land within 12 miles of the park. That ban, put in place through an executive order ([link removed]) by State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard in 2019, expires in December 2023, though Garcia Richard is expected to pursue a renewal.


** Happy Thanksgiving!
------------------------------------------------------------

Look West will be on vacation next week, and will be back in your inbox on Monday, November 28th.
Quick hits


** Supporters urge creation of Avi Kwa Ame National Monument
------------------------------------------------------------

Mojave Valley Daily News ([link removed])


** Lesser prairie-chicken added to endangered species list
------------------------------------------------------------

New York Times ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])


** Colorado regulators vastly underestimate pollution from oil and gas operations
------------------------------------------------------------

CPR ([link removed])


** Why a Nevada water utility is looking at forest management in California
------------------------------------------------------------

Nevada Independent ([link removed])


** Federal regulators order largest dam removal in U.S. history
------------------------------------------------------------

High Country News ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | The Guardian ([link removed])


** Supreme Court will reconsider Navajos' claim for more water from the Colorado River
------------------------------------------------------------

Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** National park seeks 'exceptional shooters' to help manage elk population
------------------------------------------------------------

USA Today ([link removed])


** Viral toad-licking warning not based on anyone actually licking any toads
------------------------------------------------------------

Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” I've never seen an issue receive this much support, support from the outside as well as from all the tribes. In this (political) climate, that's quite an accomplishment.”
—Tim Williams, Fort Mojave Indian Tribal Chairman, Mojave Valley Daily News ([link removed])
Picture this


** @GrandCanyonNPS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
"In November, the earth is growing quiet. It is making its bed, a winter bed for flowers and small creatures. The bed is white and silent, and much life can hide beneath its blankets." - Cynthia Rylant

A winter visit to Grand Canyon? > go.nps.gov/10 ([link removed])

#Arizona ([link removed]) #GrandCanyon ([link removed]) #Winter ([link removed]) #Winter2022 ([link removed]) #WinterSeason ([link removed])

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2022 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.

Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])