Last progress April 10, 2025 (8 months ago)
Introduced on April 10, 2025 by Ben Ray Luján
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
This bill protects certain federal lands around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. It blocks new mining, oil and gas drilling, and geothermal development on those federal lands to help safeguard sacred and historic places and the park experience . The Greater Chaco area is important to Pueblo communities, the Navajo Nation, the Hopi Tribe, and other Tribes, with many ancient roads, villages, and notable dark skies recognized by international programs.
It also sets clear rules for leases and community needs. Non‑producing federal oil and gas leases in the area end automatically under existing law and cannot be extended. If a lease ends or is given up on or after the day this becomes law, that land stays closed to new leasing and mining. The Interior Department may exchange or transfer some federal land to Tribes under existing land plans. The bill does not take away mineral rights on Tribal trust or allotment land and does not block needed water, power, utility, or road projects that help nearby communities. A map of the protected area will be available at Bureau of Land Management offices.