I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2181 

To provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain Federal land in 

the State of New Mexico. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 9, 2019 

Mr. LUJA ́N (for himself, Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico, Ms. HAALAND, 

and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain 

Federal land in the State of New Mexico. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chaco Cultural Herit5 age Area Protection Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) there are archeological, sacred, and historic 

9 resources located throughout the Greater Chaco reVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:20 Apr 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2181.IH H2181

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1 gion, which spans the States of New Mexico, Ari2 zona, Utah, and Colorado; 

3 (2) the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, 

4 a unit of the National Park System and a United 

5 Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi6 zation World Heritage Site, is known around the 

7 world— 

8 (A) for multi-story buildings constructed 

9 by the Chacoan people that are still standing; 

10 and 

11 (B) as the nerve center of a culture that 

12 spread throughout and dominated the Four 

13 Corners area during the 9th, 10th, and 11th 

14 centuries; 

15 (3) the Chacoan people built hundreds of miles 

16 of roads and a network of villages, shrines, and com17 munications sites, many of which are still visible; 

18 (4) many Pueblos and Indian Tribes in the 

19 Four Corners area claim cultural affiliation with, 

20 and are descended from, the Chacoan people; 

21 (5) the landscape around the Chaco Culture 

22 National Historical Park includes hundreds of inter23 nationally and nationally significant cultural re24 sources, including prehistoric roads, communities, 

25 and shrines— 


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1 (A) many of which are related to the re2 sources found in the Chaco Culture National 

3 Historical Park, including the resources recog4 nized by the amendment made by section 3 of 

5 the Chacoan Outliers Protection Act of 1995 

6 (16 U.S.C. 410ii note; Public Law 104–11) 

7 providing for additional Chaco Culture Archeo8 logical Protection Sites; 

9 (B) a significant number of which are con10 centrated within the immediate area sur11 rounding the Chaco Culture National Historical 

12 Park; and 

13 (C) that are commonly recognized by ar14 cheologists; 

15 (6) long considered one of the best places for 

16 stargazing in the world, Chaco Culture National 

17 Historical Park— 

18 (A) in 1991, established a night skies pro19 tection initiative and interpretive program to 

20 protect the night sky in the area of the Chaco 

21 Culture National Historical Park; and 

22 (B) in 2013, was certified as an Inter23 national Dark Sky Park; 


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1 (7) the Greater Chaco landscape in the State of 

2 New Mexico extends beyond Chaco Culture National 

3 Historical Park and encompasses— 

4 (A) local communities, including Pueblos 

5 and Indian Tribes; and 

6 (B) public land, which includes additional 

7 cultural resources and sacred sites; 

8 (8) for over 110 years, the Federal Government 

9 has recognized the importance of the area in which 

10 the Chacoan people lived and has acted to protect 

11 historic and sacred sites in the area, including— 

12 (A) Chaco Canyon, which was designated 

13 as a National Monument in 1907 and as the 

14 Chaco Culture National Historical Park in 

15 1980; 

16 (B) the Aztec Ruins, which was designated 

17 as a National Monument in 1923 and expanded 

18 in each of 1928, 1930, 1948, and 1988; and 

19 (C) the 39 Chaco Culture Archeological 

20 Protection Sites designated in 1995; 

21 (9) recognizes that the standard for Tribal con22 sultation is outlined in Executive Order 13175 (25 

23 U.S.C. 5301 note; relating to consultation and co24 ordination with Indian Tribal governments); 


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1 (10) extensive natural gas development has oc2 curred in the Greater Chaco region that affect the 

3 health, safety, economies, and quality of life of local 

4 communities; 

5 (11) renewed interest in oil exploration and pro6 duction within the Mancos/Gallup Shale play has in7 creased the potential for— 

8 (A) significant impacts on resources and 

9 visitor experiences at the Chaco Culture Na10 tional Historical Park; and 

11 (B) additional impacts on local commu12 nities in the Greater Chaco region, including 

13 Pueblos and Indian Tribes; 

14 (12) a mineral withdrawal in the landscape 

15 around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park 

16 would prevent leasing and development in the imme17 diate area surrounding the Chaco Culture National 

18 Historical Park, which would protect resources and 

19 visitor experiences at the Chaco Culture National 

20 Historical Park; and 

21 (13) additional studies and protective measures 

22 should be undertaken to address health, safety, and 

23 environmental impacts on communities and interests 

24 of Pueblos and Indian Tribes in the Greater Chaco 

25 landscape. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

3 (1) COVERED LEASE.—The term ‘‘covered 

4 lease’’ means any oil and gas lease for Federal 

5 land— 

6 (A) on which drilling operations have not 

7 been commenced before the end of the primary 

8 term of the applicable lease; 

9 (B) that is not producing oil or gas in pay10 ing quantities; and 

11 (C) that is not subject to a valid coopera12 tive or unit plan of development or operation 

13 certified by the Secretary to be necessary. 

14 (2) FEDERAL LAND.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

16 land’’ means— 

17 (i) any Federal land or interest in 

18 Federal land that is within the boundaries 

19 of the Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal 

20 Area, as depicted on the Map; and 

21 (ii) any land or interest in land lo22 cated within the boundaries of the Chaco 

23 Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area, as de24 picted on the Map, that is acquired by the 

25 Federal Government after the date of en26 actment of this Act. 


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1 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal 

2 land’’ does not include trust land (as defined in 

3 section 3765 of title 38, United States Code). 

4 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map 

5 prepared by the Bureau of Land Management enti6 tled ‘‘Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area’’ 

7 and dated April 2, 2019. 

8 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

9 the Secretary of the Interior. 

10 SEC. 4. WITHDRAWAL OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND IN THE 

11 STATE OF NEW MEXICO. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any valid existing 

13 rights, the Federal land is withdrawn from— 

14 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis15 posal under the public land laws; 

16 (2) location, entry, and patent under mining 

17 laws; and 

18 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

19 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

20 (b) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Map shall be made 

21 available for inspection at each appropriate office of the 

22 Bureau of Land Management. 

23 (c) CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO INDIAN

24 TRIBES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary 

25 may convey the Federal land to, or exchange the Federal 


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1 land with, an Indian Tribe in accordance with a resource 

2 management plan that is approved as of the date of enact3 ment of this Act, as subsequently developed, amended, or 

4 revised in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and 

5 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and 

6 any other applicable law. 

7 SEC. 5. OIL AND GAS LEASE MANAGEMENT. 

8 (a) TERMINATION OF NON-PRODUCING LEASES.—A 

9 covered lease— 

10 (1) shall automatically terminate by operation 

11 of law pursuant to section 17(e) of the Mineral 

12 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(e)) and subpart 3108 

13 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc14 cessor regulations); and 

15 (2) may not be extended by the Secretary. 

16 (b) WITHDRAWAL OF TERMINATED, RELINQUISHED, 

17 OR ACQUIRED LEASES.—Any portion of the Federal land 

18 subject to a covered lease terminated under subsection (a) 

19 or otherwise or relinquished or acquired by the United 

20 States on or after the date of enactment of this Act is 

21 withdrawn from— 

22 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis23 posal under the public land laws; 

24 (2) location, entry, and patent undermining 

25 laws; and 


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1 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

2 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

3 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 

4 Nothing in this Act— 

5 (1) affects the mineral rights of an Indian 

6 Tribe or member of an Indian Tribe to trust land 

7 or allotment land; or 

8 (2) precludes improvements to, or rights-of-way 

9 for water, power, or road development on, the Fed10 eral land to assist communities adjacent to or in the 

11 vicinity of the Federal land. 

Æ 


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