The Chaco Culture National Historical Park and the surrounding areas contain not only natural treasures, but undeveloped lands and a network of ancient roads, villages, and shrines important to local and national history. It is an important step that the Bureau of Land Management has elected to have the Bureau of Indian Land Affairs co-lead oil and gas development planning for this area, but it is also important that BLM brings in other local stakeholders as well.
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In 2015, we've really accomplished a lot! Thank you for being a part of this vital movement. As part of Giving Tuesday, please consider making a donation to support HECHO’s work in 2016 – to keep empowering Latinos and elevating our voices, so we are heard by our leaders.
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It was refreshing to hear Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) voice his concern in a Senate hearing last week over oil and gas development in the northwest New Mexico, and its potential impact on Chaco Canyon, which in the Senator’s words is “an incredibly rich cultural destination as well as sacred place to the tribes of the Southwest.”
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In case you missed it last week, I joined a Google Hangout panel of Latino experts on conservation issues to highlight our community’s dedication to making sure elected officials and regulators hear our concerns. In fact recent polls released by Latino Decisions and NCLR in states that are receiving plenty of attention ahead of November’s high-stakes elections showed that Latinos vote in states like Colorado (48%) and North Carolina (43%) mainly because they want to make their voices heard.
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Despite NPS’s commitment to protecting night skies, threats remain. At Chaco Culture, for example, light pollution emanating from expanding urban areas including Albuquerque and Farmington, New Mexico, and the growing demand for oil and gas development in the northwestern corner of the state have the potential to impact the quality of the night skies at the park. Natural gas flaring and an increase in intensive artificial lighting from construction activities, vehicle traffic, and support facilities can all create light pollution at the park’s higher elevations and inside the canyon.
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