The Trump administration proposed removing a 10‑mile buffer that currently shields the Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico from oil and gas drilling, a move that would permit extraction activities near the UNESCO World Heritage site. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to eliminate the buffer, which covers about 336,400 acres, and the proposal attracted roughly 100,000 public comments during a 14‑day comment period that ended in July. UNESCO said extractive activities are incompatible with World Heritage status and that projects located outside a World Heritage property must not adversely affect its outstanding universal value. The agency is awaiting a response from the federal government on the potential impact of the buffer removal.

Several U.S. World Heritage sites already have nearby drilling or mining operations, and the administration’s broader “drill, baby, drill” policy seeks to expand fossil‑fuel extraction on federal lands. Tribal leaders, archaeologists and environmental groups warn that the removal could cause irreversible environmental harm, affect water resources, degrade air quality, and diminish the dark‑sky designation valued by astronomers and visitors. Former Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the buffer’s removal would cause “irreversible damage.” The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service did not respond to requests for comment.