ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says he’s deferring a planned oil and gas lease sale near Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico until further “cultural consultation” can be conducted.
Zinke told the Albuquerque Journal in an interview Thursday in Washington that the Bureau of Land Management will halt the sale of about 25 parcels, citing the concerns about the project’s cultural impact.
The bureau has received 120 protests opposing the sale that was set for next week.
Tribal leaders and other critics have asked for a moratorium on drilling, saying the lease sites are too close to the Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other sites they consider culturally significant.
Zinke says the proposed leases “are well outside Chaco” and that “not everyone is happy we are deferring it.”
