Biden administration enforces oil and gas drilling bans to protect Indigenous sites and schools in New Mexico.

The Biden administration has ordered a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling on public lands within a 10-mile radius of New Mexico's Chaco Culture National Historical Park, which is considered sacred by tribal communities. The ban aims to protect more than 4,700 known archaeological sites outside the park. The Navajo Nation has expressed disappointment in the decision, citing the economic impacts on the tribe and individual tribal members. Existing leases won't be impacted, and the ban does not apply to entities that are privately, state- or tribal-owned.