Provisional ten-mile buffer zone passes; president is expected to sign
Taos, N.M. (December 20, 2019)—The U.S. Senate has approved a $1.4 trillion spending package for the 2020 fiscal year. The White House has said that the president will sign the legislation. Importantly, the legislation includes interim protections for the landscape adjacent to Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
Paul F. Reed, Chaco Scholar and Preservation Archaeologist at Archaeology Southwest, issued the following statement:
“We at Archaeology Southwest are elated that Congress took action today to protect Chaco Culture National Historical Park from oil and gas drilling. The appropriations bill ensures that there will be no more leasing on federal lands within ten miles of the park, pending needed studies and consultation with tribal communities. The ten-mile zone around the park is particularly important, as it includes more than a dozen Chacoan great house communities, ancient roads, and thousands of other significant cultural resources. Thank you, Senator Udall, Congressman Lujàn, and the entire New Mexico congressional delegation for securing these important protections.”
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About Archaeology Southwest
Archaeology Southwest is a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Tucson, Arizona, that explores and protects the places of our past across the American Southwest and Mexican Northwest. For three decades, Archaeology Southwest has fostered meaningful connections to the past and respectfully safeguarded its irreplaceable resources. Learn more at archaeologysouthwest.org.
