Interior Secretary Bernhardt Will Join Heinrich To Tour Chaco Canyon, Meet With Tribal Leaders

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, announces that U.S. Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt will travel to New Mexico to visit Chaco Canyon on Tuesday, May 28. 

"I invited Secretary Bernhardt to New Mexico to see firsthand how special Chaco Canyon is and I’m pleased to announce we are making that happen," said Sen. Heinrich. "The Secretary will have the opportunity to meet with local tribal leaders who are united in protecting the area surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical Park from development of federal energy resources. The region holds deep meaning to New Mexico's Pueblos, whose history and traditional knowledge live on in its thousands of ancestral sites, and to the Navajo Nation, whose lands and communities surround Chaco Culture National Historical Park. While we plan for any future energy development in the San Juan Basin, protecting these sites is something we should all be able to agree on. This is about listening to tribal leaders and all of the New Mexicans who are calling on us to preserve the integrity of Chaco’s irreplaceable resources and the sacred landscapes in this region for future generations.” 

Senator Heinrich is a sponsor of S. 1079, the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, which would withdraw the federal lands around Chaco Canyon from further mineral development.

Members of the press interested in a brief media availability at Chaco Canyon on Tuesday, May 28, should email press@heinrich.senate.gov or call (202) 228-1578 for details.