
Organizing and public support led to Chaco Canyon protections
All Pueblo Council of Governors Chair Mark Mitchell reminded us that the work to protect Chaco Canyon has been ongoing for years.

On June 11, 2023 members of Pueblo Tribes and members of the Navajo Nation, federal employees and conservationists gathered in Albuquerque to celebrate the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) decision to protect a 10 mile area of federal land around Chaco Canyon from driling.
All Pueblo Council of Governors Chair Mark Mitchell reminded the group that the work to protect a critical 10 mile “buffer zone” around the park started years ago. Like most organizing efforts, the campaign included many voices who have been focused on win incremental progress from protecting state land, temporary protections for federal land, Congressional action and finally a decision from the DOI to prohibit new oil and gas leasing on 336,404 acres of federal public lands surrounding the park.
The DOI held a public comments period which included public meetings throughout 2022 during which they received more than 130,000 comments from the public in favor of the 10-mile withdrawal.
In a press statement, the All Pueblo Council of Governers also reaffirmed their support in a for the decision to safeguard “our precious and sacred landscape surrounding the Park.”
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Ellen Montgomery
Director, Public Lands Campaign, Environment America
Ellen runs campaigns to protect America's beautiful places, from local beachfronts to remote mountain peaks. She sits on the Steering Committee of the Arctic Defense Campaign and co-coordinates the Climate Forests Campaign. Ellen previously worked as the organizing director for Environment America’s Climate Defenders campaign and managed grassroots campaign offices across the country. Ellen lives in Denver, where she likes to hike in Colorado's mountains.