Tribal · Albuquerque, NM
Greater Chaco Coalition
The coalition of Diné and Pueblo communities fighting drilling around Chaco
Founded 2016
Stand · Find your defenders
Who’s defending Chaco Culture?
13 groups have it in their care
National park in New Mexico, 33,960 acres, managed by the National Park Service, designated in 1907.
The defenders
The groups doing the most work here
3 groups are on the record for Chaco Culture, in the order they carry the weight. The range says how strongly our editors, the court dockets and their own filings tie each one here. Give directly; nothing routes through us.
Leading the fight
93–98% match
On the ground
Coalition · Durango, CO
San Juan Citizens Alliance
The San Juan Basin watchdog on the ground in greater Chaco
9 staff + 20 volunteers89¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1986
Also in the fight
Legal · Santa Fe, NM
WildEarth Guardians
Serial litigant over greater Chaco drilling permits
41 staff + 20 volunteers78¢ of every dollar to the workFounded 1996
10 more groups also work this ground
On the ground in New Mexico
More ways in
Continental Divide Trail CoalitionWorking this regionTrailsWestern National Parks AssociationWorking this regionFriends GroupWestern Values ProjectWorking this regionWatchdogHonor the EarthTheir work includes national parksTribalNew Mexico Land ConservancyThey work only in New MexicoLand TrustUtah Diné BikéyahTheir work includes national parksTribal
The situation
What’s happening to Chaco Culture
A thousand years ago, Chaco coordinated civilization across tens of thousands of square miles. Today its great houses are surrounded by thousands of oil and gas wells, with more permits approved every month. The 10-mile buffer zone that kept the industry at bay is being dismantled.
- 1907Established as national monument
- 1980Redesignated as national historical park
- 202210-mile buffer zone established
- 2025Buffer zone under review for rollback
- 2026BLM formally proposes revoking 336,000-acre buffer zone; 7-day comment period closes with no public hearings
- 2026BLM environmental assessment comment period closes (14 days)
BLM environmental assessment would reopen 336,400 acres to leasing
Source: KUNC · July 17, 2026
Buffer zone protections rolled back
Source: BLM · March 10, 2025
No public comment window is open on Chaco Culture right now. A call script is ready on the Public Lands Action Network, and the groups above are how the fight gets funded and argued in the meantime.
Your move
How to stand for Chaco Culture
GiveGive to Greater Chaco Coalition
Their own site; they take gifts directly. Your dollar never passes through us.
Their site ↗SpeakCall your representativesA ready call script on Chaco Culture, plus any comment window as it opens.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapChaco Culture has defenders. It needs more.
The work is theirs. The backing is yours.