Unesco Questions US Plan to Scrap 10-Mile Chaco Drilling Buffer
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 20
Unesco Questions US Plan to Scrap 10-Mile Chaco Drilling Buffer
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 20
Summary
Unesco said it has received information on a Trump administration plan to remove the 10-mile no-drilling buffer around Chaco Culture National Historical Park and is awaiting a US response on the impact.
The Bureau of Land Management wants to open a 336,400-acre zone next to the New Mexico world heritage site to oil, gas and uranium activity, despite Unesco’s position that extractive projects can threaten a site’s protected value.
100,000 mostly hostile comments were filed during a 14-day public review that closed in July, with tribal leaders, archaeologists and environmental groups warning of irreversible damage to sacred land, aquifers and Chaco’s dark skies.
The dispute fits a broader Trump push to expand drilling near protected landscapes; the US has 27 world heritage sites, and officials and campaigners warn others could face scrutiny if nearby industrialization harms them.