Biden and Haaland impose long-term oil and gas drilling bans near Indigenous sites in New Mexico.
The Biden administration has ordered a 20-year ban on oil and gas drilling around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, which is considered sacred by tribal communities. The ban applies to public lands and associated mineral rights within a 10-mile radius of the park, but does not affect privately, state- or tribal-owned entities or existing leases. The move has pitted the Navajo Nation against other tribes in the region, with concerns about economic impacts and individual Navajo allotment owners being left landlocked by restrictions on public land.