Days after President Joe Biden gave his farewell address to the nation on Jan. 15, the Bureau of Land Management approved oil and gas leases on thousands of acres of public and tribal land around New Mexico’s Chaco Culture National Historical Park — all of them parcels the agency had sold at auction in 2019, during the first Trump administration.
One site is just over half a mile from the 10-mile buffer zone the Biden administration created to protect Chaco’s fragile cultural and environmental landscape.
The BLM’s announcement came with a 206-page environmental assessment acknowledging that the oil and gas activity will impact cultural sites in and around Chaco that are foundational to the region’s Indigenous people. At the same time, it encouraged land developers to work with the new administration, which is already sprinting to reform federal land management to meet industry demands.
Before the recently confirmed Interior secretary, Doug Burgum, announced his first six secretary’s orders — which are designed to fulfill President Donald Trump’s own Day 1 executive orders directed at achieving energy dominance — his agency was already preparing to expand drilling on 14 different land parcels totaling 5,859 acres around Chaco, despite long opposition from some nearby sovereign Indigenous nations.
“We anticipated in this administration — based off the Project 2025 mandate — this push for domestic natural resource cultivation and ultimately recognizing that the majority of existing resources are either on or near tribal lands,” said Julia Bernal, a member of the Pueblo of Sandia/Yuchi and executive director of Pueblo Action Alliance, a grassroots organization that has spent over eight years working on issues concerning Chaco Canyon.
Not all tribes are opposed to the drilling, though: The Navajo Nation is eager to encourage oil and gas development in the area, even working with congressional allies to remove the 10-mile buffer zone. Indications are that the Trump administration could successfully leverage Indigenous sovereignty in order to boost energy economies, even as it also accelerates pollution and climate change.
The land in question falls outside the 10-mile federal buffer zone created to halt drilling on federal lands around Chaco, but all 14 parcels could still be delayed as the Interior Department reviews the sites’ possible eligibility for the National Register of Historic Places, BLM Director of Minerals Michael Gibson wrote in his environmental assessment.
The buffer zone lies in the “checkerboard” area on the eastern borders of the Navajo Nation, a patchwork of reservation and non-reservation land that was divvied up under the Dawes Act of 1887. The land was allotted to individual Navajo households, who can sell the mineral rights for their land and collect royalties from energy production.
Gibson said that only 20% of the 370 historic properties located within the 14 parcels appear to be ineligible for National Register of Historic Places status, while 140 would qualify, and another 196 “are undetermined or lack data.”
He acknowledged that “the probability of identifying previously unrecorded historic properties in this area is high. In addition to the recorded historic properties there are 25 known Navajo Nation (traditional cultural properties); potentially eligible for the National Register of Historic Places, if evaluated. At this time, the BLM (Farmington Field Office) determined that there would be no adverse effect on historic properties as a result of the undertaking.”
Gibson said that the Navajo Nation Tribal Historic Preservation Office agreed, noting that determining possible adverse impacts to historic properties was not part of this stage of the process. “The lease sale itself does not directly authorize surface disturbance. Rather, leaseholders are granted future right of development to the leased mineral estate that is subject to site-specific analysis under (the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969).”
Any objections would go to the Interior, which is currently under order by Burgum to review historic protections that could impede potential development.
The current leaseholder of the land around Chaco is a Santa Fe-based company called Federal Abstract Co. Co-owner Preston Miles would not comment on the land purchase, which took place during the 2019 auction, stating that “the leases were taken on behalf of a client, and I am bound by confidentiality.” The leases are located on the Navajo Nation and are part of the “checkerboard” oil and gas leasing allotments.
Allison Sandoval, BLM spokesperson for the New Mexico region, said the office was preparing a response to HCN’s questions about the environmental assessment’s timeline and whether Federal Abstract Co. or any other companies have sent development plans to the BLM. She added that there could be a delay while Interior staff reviewed the response.
The 10-mile buffer zone around Chaco remains a point of controversy. On Jan. 17, the Navajo Nation filed a lawsuit against the Interior Department and BLM to revoke the 2023 public order that established it.
The suit alleges that the federal government failed to properly consult with the Navajo Nation and complete reports required by the National Environmental Policy Act, analyzing the economic impacts on those residents, or allottees, who own land in the area. Allottees receive royalties from oil and gas production, and the suit alleges that they could lose up to $200 million in revenue.
Soon after the suit was filed, on Jan. 28, Arizona Rep. Eli Crane, R, reintroduced the 2023 Energy Opportunities for All Act, which would nullify Biden’s public order creating the buffer zone, denouncing it as an “obstructive violation of tribal sovereignty.”
Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has not commented on the activity around Chaco, though he praised Burgum on social media and said he was optimistic that his appointment would “strengthen our partnerships, protect our resources, and improve the lives of Native peoples across the nation.”
Meanwhile, another site in the Navajo community of Counselor Chapter is also up for review for a lease. Back in 2023, local residents joined with environmentalists and sued New Mexico for allegedly failing to prevent pollution from oil and gas production in the southeastern and northwestern areas of the state.
“It’s important even for folks that voted for (Trump) to take a really hard look at how systemic and strategic these actions have been; they’re all connected in some way or another,” Bernal said.
Burgum’s six secretarial orders have a clear goal in mind: to increase energy development and production on public lands and waters while removing programs and regulations that the administration considers too costly. His orders seek to address what he calls a national “inadequate energy supply” by reversing previous regulations and red tape, despite the fact that the United States is already producing more oil and gas than ever before and is in the midst of a growing — and profitable — transition to alternative sources of energy.
Burgum’s orders also call for revisions to the U.S. Code law that falls under the Antiquities Act of 1906. The act authorizes U.S. presidents to designate federal lands as national monuments, including the nine monuments Biden established during his presidency, and as it stands it would exempt the land from future oil and gas production.
Conservation groups, petroleum trade associations and various tribal nations hold differing views on Secretary Burgum’s goals for Interior and their possible impacts on public lands, especially given the Trump administration’s push for more and more American oil and gas.
“IPAA appreciates Sec. Burgum’s early efforts toward returning Interior and BLM to following the law through the ‘multiple-use mandate’ in the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) which requires the balance the resources and uses of public lands to the benefit of the people,” said Mallori Miller, vice president of government relations at the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
Other Indigenous leaders announced their approval of Burgum’s appointment. Mark N. Fox, chairman of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation of North Dakota, said, “I know from direct experience that Secretary Burgum is a no-nonsense leader. He brings strong business experience and successful solutions to obstacles that impede good development. I believe that mindset will help tribal nations realize strategic development and economic prosperity.”
And Stephen Roe Lewis, governor of the Gila River Indian Community of Arizona, spoke in support of Burgum’s nomination at a Jan. 29 press conference when he urged the Office of Management and Budget to rescind the budget freeze, which would affect many tribal programs. “We look forward to starting our relationship with him on the right foot as soon as he is confirmed,” Lewis said.
In contrast, the conservation and advocacy group Center for Western Priorities was critical of Burgum’s appointment. In a statement on the group’s website, Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said: “Secretary Burgum has to decide if he will be a force for chaos or consistency on America’s public lands. When Donald Trump invariably orders him to illegally revoke existing permits for renewable energy, will he have the spine to tell the president ‘no’? If oil and gas billionaires tell Burgum to ignore the bedrock laws that protect America’s lands, water, and wildlife, will Burgum tell the oligarchs ‘no’?”
“Secretary Burgum has to decide if he will be a force for chaos or consistency on America’s public lands.”
Bernal said that she expects that other oil and gas leases that were paused during the Biden administration will be resumed. She noted that Pueblo Action Alliance has also been monitoring the price of uranium and the possible re-opening of some uranium mines. The organization encourages New Mexico to seek greater regulatory control over the state energy industry, especially given the change in federal administration.
“A lot of us that are involved in an Indigenous rights movement are also recognizing that this is big government,” Bernal said, noting the intersectionality of this issue and others surrounding the environment, climate and even birthright citizenship. Indigenous people as well as migrants are already being affected by raids from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“We’re all just in this mindset of: The work has to continue, and we’ll continue resisting just like how we always have,” Bernal said.
The six orders:
- “Addressing the National Energy Emergency”
Following up to Pres. Trump’s declaration, a two-fold effort to identify potential domestic energy sources and expedite the completion of approved projects through “all emergency and legal authorities available.” - “Unleashing American Energy”
The goal: “Solidify the United States as a global energy leader and achieve energy dominance” through resources available on federal lands and waters. - “Delivering Emergency Price Relief for American Families and Defeating the Cost-of-Living-Crisis”
A department-wide review of programs and “coercive climate policies” that could be eliminated to lower the costs of energy that would be of to benefit American citizens. - “Announcing President Trumps’ revocation of former Outer Continental Shelf Withdrawals”
A removal of Biden-era policies that excluded the Outer Continental Shelf from oil and gas leasing. - “Achieving Prosperity through Deregulation”
Efforts to remove regulations and implement new ones that would seek to be more cost effective. - “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential”
An order for the department to “take all necessary steps to unleash the State of Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources,” and review prior restrictions on resource development in Alaska.
