U.S (NATIVE ORGANIZERS ALLIANCE ACTION FUND) : Urge Secretary HAALAND to complete the HONORING CHACO INITIATIVE !

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friend, 

 

For too long, the Greater Chaco region has been ravaged by the oil and gas industry, putting Tribal communities at risk, undermining the cultural integrity of the landscape, and jeopardizing clean air and water.

The Department of the Interior has taken initial steps to protect Chaco Culture National Historical Park by issuing a 20-year administrative withdrawal that bans new oil and gas drilling and fracking on unleased federal lands within a 10-mile buffer.

While steps have been taken to protect certain areas of Greater Chaco from industrial exploitation, more needs to be done to truly safeguard the safety and well-being of this cultural landscape and surrounding communities.

That’s why we’ve join with partners, including Navajo Nation, Diné C.A.R.E., Sierra Club, and Friends of the Earth, in support of the Honoring Chaco Initiative (HCI) which would end all new oil and gas drilling and fracking from the region, phasing out existing extraction activities, and establishing Tribal co-management strategies for the future.

Will you join in our call to action urging Secretary Deb Haaland and the Department of Interior to move forward with the Honoring Chaco Initiative now?

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The Honoring Chaco Initiative is a first of its kind effort to change the paradigm of public lands management in this sacred landscape and finally prioritize the health, economic and environmental justice, equity, and sustainability of the region.

Since 2014, over two million people have called on federal agencies to pause all oil and gas proposals and address the impacts of sacrifice zones in the Greater Chaco region. Groups have called for meaningful tribal and community consultation at every stage of decision-making, and for the cumulative impacts of oil and gas development to be considered, analyzed and addressed.

Looking ahead, the HCI will continue to advance the following core goals :

• Stop permitting new oil and gas drilling and fracking, and phase out existingextraction, across the Greater Chaco Landscape.

• Develop and implement Tribal co-management strategies for the region’s public lands and resources.

• Fully protect and restore the air quality, ground and surface waters, and healthy lands of the region.

• Allocate resources to enable communities to achieve economic security and sustainability, including massive clean up efforts of failing oil and gas infrastructure.

The HCI is an opportunity for the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management to finally end the legacy of broken promises and address the impacts of sacrifice zones and environmental racism in the Greater Chaco region.

Sign on today and urge Secretary Haaland to follow through with the Department’s promises to safeguard and honor the Greater Chaco Canyon now.

Hawwih (thank you in Caddo) for keeping the Honoring Chaco Initiative at the forefront of the Department of the Interior’s and the Bureau of Land Management’s attention by taking action today. 

 

Judith LeBlanc (Caddo)
Executive Director .

 

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