Summary

Withdraws specified federal lands within the Greater Chaco area in New Mexico from most new public land uses, mining, and oil and gas leasing, while protecting tribal access and certain tribal mineral and community development rights. It requires the Bureau of Land Management to publish a withdrawal map, defines which existing leases count as “covered leases,” and sets rules for termination, transfers to tribes, and exceptions to the withdrawal.

Key Points

• Withdraws specified federal lands in the Greater Chaco area from most new mining, public land uses, and oil and gas leasing.
• Requires the Bureau of Land Management to publish an official Withdrawal Map (BLM map dated January 6, 2022) and includes future federal acquisitions.
• Defines a “covered lease” as an undeveloped oil/gas lease not producing and not in a unit; sets rules for such leases.
• Preserves tribal cultural access, tribal mineral rights, and some community development rights despite the withdrawal.
• Authorizes certain exceptions and allows for some transfers of land interests to tribal governments under set conditions.
• Excludes specified trust land from the definition of federal land covered by the withdrawal.
• Focuses on protecting archaeological, cultural, environmental, and night-sky resources in the Chaco region.
• Imposes administrative duties on the Department of the Interior/BLM to implement and publicize the withdrawal.

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