December 3, 2025

DENVER – Western Energy Alliance today welcomed news that the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will hold tribal consultations this week with the Navajo Nation as Secretary Doug Burgum reconsiders the 2023 land withdrawal around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park. The withdrawal prevents tribal members from developing mineral resources they own within 10 miles of the park for 20 years. The meeting between agency officials and tribal members is scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Farmington, N.M.

“The Chaco land withdrawal was not only an injustice, but it was contrary to basic principles of tribal consultation. The decision in 2023 ignored the democratic resolutions of the sovereign Navajo Nation whose land surrounds the park,” said Melissa Simpson, president of the Alliance. “The human impact falls on tribal members who today are deprived of the ability to earn income from the mineral allotments the federal government previously granted their families. The stranded assets prevent 5,550 community members from earning an estimated $194 million over the next 20 years. That means over the span of a generation, people will be unable to pay for basic necessities like installing running water and electricity to homes. Interior and BLM are right to reconsider the overreaching land withdrawal, and we expect by holding tribal consultations they will gain tremendous understanding from the impacted and overlooked community.”

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