The Navajo Nation has withdrawn support for a Biden administration plan to stop new oil and gas drilling near a sacred site in New Mexico, saying its members...
By Nichola Groom (Reuters) - should have the right to develop those resources if they choose to. The move puts the tribe at odds with New Mexico's Pueblo nations who support the administration's proposed protection of the Chaco region, a split that reflects the complexities of President Joe Biden's goals to conserve public lands. In a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland last week, Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren and 25th Navajo Nation Council Speaker Crystalyne Curley said a tribal committee had passed a resolution opposing the plan to halt mineral leasing within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park for a period of 20 years. The tribe also rescinded its support for a 5-mile buffer zone that it had previously agreed to, according to the letter. "As leaders of the…