Friends of Cedar Mesa has refiled litigation challenging the previous administration’s fire sale of leasing within the culturally rich landscape of eastern San Juan County. If successful, this effort would safeguard thousands of archaeological sites in the “Lands Between” Bears Ears, Hovenweep and Canyons of the Ancients National Monuments, allowing time for the new administration to initiate smart planning regarding any future development.
From Chaco to Bears Ears: The Last, Big Unprotected Region
First proposed for protection by Edgar Lee Hewett in 1904, this cultural landscape is extensive, understudied, and imperiled. While less scenic than neighboring Bears Ears, the area is home to tens of thousands of cultural sites considered sacred to many Indigenous peoples, including the Hopi, Zuni, Ute, Paiute, Diné, and Pueblos of New Mexico. The area is unquestionably the most archaeologically rich area of the United States open to oil and gas leasing. This landscape contains dozens of ancient community centers testifying to large populations inhabiting the area in the past, dating to at least the Archaic Period. In the larger cultural landscape that ranges from Chaco Canyon to Bears Ears and beyond, this is the last landscape-scale region that has yet to see any significant protections for its archaeological wonders.
While President Biden has paused all new leasing on federal public lands, the 32 leases challenged in the lawsuit were auctioned as part of lease sales in March 2018 and December 2018. The leases had been in suspension due to prior legal challenges, but the Trump Administration lifted those suspensions just days before leaving office, spurring FCM to re-file litigation to protect the area.
“Friends of Cedar Mesa is exceedingly grateful for the tireless efforts of the legal team at Advocates for the West who have dedicated countless hours to helping protect this culturally rich landscape from irreparable damage should those leases be developed,” said Friends of Cedar Mesa Executive Director Josh Ewing.
FCM is not opposed to responsible development in appropriate areas. However, the previous administration abandoned “smart from the start” planning in favor of an “energy dominance” agenda, refusing to remove a single acre or archaeological site from the lease sales. Over the course of four different auctions – March 2018, December 2018, September 2019, and December 2019 – the BLM attempted to lease almost every remaining acre of these archaeologically rich lands. In fact, more than 100,000 acres were leased for potential development in a matter of two years. FCM, as well as the Pueblo of Acoma, the All Pueblo Council of Governors and other conservation groups, also protested the two 2019 lease sales (not included in this lawsuit), which have yet to be finalized. FCM’s protests of those lease sales remain unresolved.
What’s Next?
The case was filed in federal district court for the District of Columbia and has been assigned to Judge Rudolph Contreras. As with many such challenges, the process of moving the case forward is likely to take months, if not years. However, FCM is working with a number of other conservation groups, as well as Tribal leaders, to advocate for durable, smart protections for this area going forward. We are hopeful the new Biden Administration will prioritize smart planning and Tribal consultation for areas like the “Lands Between” in the coming months.
If you see value in FCM’s multi-pronged efforts to advocate for the cultural landscape of southeast Utah, please consider supporting our work and that of our partners at Advocates for the West.