Welcome to the Chaco Alliance
The Chaco Alliance is a grass roots citizen’s group dedicated to protecting and preserving Chaco Culture
National Historical Park. We formed in early 2006 in response to citizen concerns over the
paving (chip-sealing) of CR7950, the main access road to Chaco Culture National
Historical Park (CCNHP). The Chaco Alliance organized the initial meeting with the
New Mexico office of the Federal Highway Administration in August of 2006 in which we
demanded that NEPA (the National Environmental Policy Act) be applied to all work on CR7950
(Chaco road) because of the significant impacts to the park brought about by increased visitation
from paving. When the NEPA process began on CR7950, we were given consulting party status under
Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
January 2013 Update.
Our role expanded as additional threats to CCNHP developed from energy exploration in the Chaco area, and we were given consulting party status under Section 106 of NHPA in negotiations with the BLM regarding oil and gas leasing near Chaco. In 2009, over 10,000 acres near Chaco were protected from oil and gas leasing thanks to the efforts of the Chaco Alliance, the Hopi, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. We continue to consult with the Hopi Tribe and the San Juan Citizens Alliance in actions aimed at establishing a protective zone around Chaco. See the
March 2016 Update
.
Chaco Culture NHP in North-Central New Mexico is a very special place.
It was inhabited for many hundreds of years and its culture peaked a
millennium ago - before that of the more widely known Mesa Verde site.