{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://fernandez.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=659", "Leger Fern\u00e1ndez Leads 18 Members Demanding Answers on Trump Administration\u2019s Rush to Strip Chaco Canyon Protections", "2026-08-26", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Teresa Leger Fernandez", "L000273", "fernandez.house.gov", "fernandez", "https://fernandez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2014 Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez (NM-03), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, and Congressman Jared Huffman (CA-02), Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee led 18 members of Congress in demanding answers from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about the Trump Administration\u2019s rushed effort to revoke protections for lands surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park.\n\nThe Department of the Interior is proposing to revoke Public Land Order No. 7923, which established a 10-mile mineral withdrawal surrounding Chaco Canyon. Revoking the order would reopen these culturally significant public lands to oil and gas leasing and mining activities.\n\n\u201cChaco Canyon is not just a historical site; it\u2019s a living cultural landscape,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cThe Department\u2019s current fast-tracked efforts to overturn the withdrawal area do not respect the historical, cultural, and spiritual value of Chaco Canyon.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Department\u2019s rushed review undermined the Department\u2019s trust responsibility to Tribal nations and the Tribal consultation process under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act,\u201d they continued.\n\nThe lawmakers\u2019 letter raises serious concerns that the Department failed to fulfill its trust responsibility to Tribal nations and honor Burgum\u2019s public commitment to meaningful consultation. During a June 2025 House Natural Resources Committee hearing, Burgum committed to Leger Fern\u00e1ndez to send an official with decision-making authority to conduct individual, in-person consultations with every Tribe with an interest in Chaco Canyon. However, Interior\u2019s own draft Environmental Assessment indicates that the Department moved forward before completing all requested consultations. Several Tribes received only \u201cinformational meetings,\u201d while requests to meet with a decision-maker remained unmet.\n\nThe Department also provided only 21 days for public comment and held no public meetings before advancing its proposal. Despite that abbreviated process, the public submitted an estimated 300,000 comments.\n\nBy contrast, the existing protections were finalized in 2023 following 150 days of public comment, eight public meetings, and years of advocacy by Tribal nations. An archaeological study identified more than 4,730 cultural sites within the protected area.\n\nThe lawmakers are asking Burgum to disclose:\n\n\u25cf How many Tribal consultations included an Interior official with decision-making authority;\n\n\u25cf Why the Department failed to honor Tribal requests to meet with a decision-maker;\n\n\u25cf Why Interior published its draft proposal before completing Tribal consultation;\n\n\u25cf Whether all requested consultations will occur before the Department completes its review; and\n\n\u25cf Why Interior conducted a limited Environmental Assessment instead of a more comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement.\n\nThe lawmakers requested answers by Friday, August 28.\n\nThe letter was signed by Representatives Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez, Jared Huffman, Melanie Stansbury, Gabe Vasquez, Sharice Davids, Betty McCollum, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Mark DeSaulnier, Val Hoyle, Donald Beyer Jr., Judy Chu, Dina Titus, Jes\u00fas \u201cChuy\u201d Garc\u00eda, Sylvia Garcia, Rashida Tlaib, Diana DeGette, Julia Brownley, and Raja Krishnamoorthi.", 1, "2026-08-27T16:10:01Z", "2026-08-27T16:10:50Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://fernandez.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=659"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6982611268758774, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}