Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has agreed to put off oil and gas leasing for a year on land that Native Americans consider sacred surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. The delay on leasing will give the U.S. Bureau of Land Management time to finish drafting an updated management plan to guide energy development on federal land across the region. The Bureau of Land Management in recent years has put off leasing parcels within the buffer zone, but most of that area is Navajo land and individual Navajo allotments. The 328 square miles (850 square kilometers) of allotted land has 628 oil and gas leases, according to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Bernhardt acknowledged during his visit that the Bureau of Land Management has a "complex mission" of managing a range of land uses.

Source: ABC News May 29, 2019 17:30 UTC