>> Laura: AS PART OF OUR SERIES ABOUT THE GREATER CHACO LANDSCAPE, WE SHARED INTERVIEWS WITH PUEBLO OF ACOMA, TERESA PASQUAL AND MARIO ATENCIO WITH DINÉ CARE.

NOW WE BRING YOU OUT INTO THE FIELD WITH MIKE EISENFELD OF THE SAN JUAN CITIZENS ALLIANCE TO SHOW YOU SOME OF THE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN NORTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO.

OF COURSE, A PORTION OF CHACO CANYON AND SOME ARCHEOLOGICAL AND SACRED SITES ARE PROTECTED WITHIN THE NATIONAL PARK.

BUT, EISENFELD SHOWED US AROUND A VAST AREA OUTSIDE THE PARK BOUNDARIES.

AS HE EXPLAINED TO US, TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGES, ESPECIALLY WITH WHAT IS CALLED HORIZONTAL DRILLING, PEEKS INTEREST IN THE SOUTHERN SAN JUAN BASIN, BEGINNING AROUND 2010.

SINCE THEN, HUNDREDS OF NEW WELLS HAVE BEEN DRILLED AND THERE ARE PLANS FOR THOUSANDS.

YET, FOR MORE THAN A DECADE NOW THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS CONTINUED TO CONSIDER THAT DEVELOPMENT EXPLORATORY.

SAN JUAN CITIZENS ALLIANCE AND OTHER GROUPS, TOO, HAVE CONTINUED TO ASK THE U.S. GOVERNMENT TO STUDY DRILLINGS IMPACTS MORE DEEPLY AND UPDATE MANAGEMENT PLANS FOR NORTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO.

UNDER THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR HAS TALKED ABOUT AN HONORING CHACO INITIATIVE WHICH FOCUSES ON HOW TO PROTECT CHACO CULTURE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK AND A 10-MILE BUFFER AROUND THE PARK BUT AS EISENFELD SHOWS US, THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO THE GREATER CHACO LANDSCAPE THAN JUST THE NATIONAL PARK.

AND THERE IS ALSO A LOT MORE DEVELOPMENT OUT THERE THAN MANY NEW MEXICANS MIGHT REALIZE.

>> Eisenfeld: WHERE I LIVE IN THE NORTHERN PART OF THE SAN JUAN BASIN KIND OF IN THE FARMINGTON AREA, IT IS NOT UNUSUAL FOR THERE TO BE HISTORIC OR LEGACY WELLS, AS MANY AS 25 PER SQUARE MILE.

BUT, SOUTHERN SAN JUAN BASIN THAT ENCOMPASSES CHACO, THERE WAS NEVER REALLY A THOUGHT THERE WAS GOING TO BE HIGH PROBABILITY.

AND SO AROUND 2010 WAS REALLY SORT OF WHEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE IS THIS IDEA THERE WAS GOING TO BE A BOOM WITH SHALE THAT THEY COULD HORIZONTALLY DRILL AND SO THE MANCUS SHALE AND MANCUS GALLUP FORMATIONS KIND OF BECAME, AT THAT POINT, THE FOCUS IN AN EXPLORATION PHASE.

AND SO ONE OF OUR PRIMARY CONCERNS IS THAT THAT EXPLORATION, ALL THE WAY TO '22 HAS NEVER BEEN ASSESSED CUMULATIVELY.

IT HAS NEVER BEEN ASSESSED FOR DEVELOPMENT AND THERE IS ALL THESE OTHER ISSUES THAT ARE NOW PREVALENT IN 2022, THAT NEED TO BE PART OF THE MIX, THAT ARE BEING IGNORED BY THE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN APPROVING OIL AND GAS.

THAT IS AN OIL WELL DRILLED PROBABLY SIX OR SEVEN YEARS AGO AND WHAT YOU'RE SEEING ARE SORT OF LIKE OIL TANKS FOR COLLECTION OF THE OIL AND THEN THERE IS A COMPRESSOR ON IT, WHICH HAS LIKE 24 HOUR NOISE TO PUSH PRODUCT INTO THE PIPELINES.

AND THERE IS PIPELINES OUT HERE.

SO, REALLY WHAT YOU GET IS AN INTERCONNECTED SYSTEM OF A BUNCH OF WELLS FEEDING INTO LARGE PIPELINES AND THE PIPELINES ALL GO TO LIKE THE 550 CORRIDOR AND GOING DOWN, I BELIEVE, TO ALBUQUERQUE AND THAT AREA.

STUFF LIKE THIS SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED, LIKE SURFACE LINES THAT ARE HANGING ACROSS ARROYOS SHOULDN'T BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN.

IT'S UNACCEPTABLE FROM A HEALTH AND SAFETY PERSPECTIVE.

THERE IS A LOT OF IMPACTS, LIKE FOR A WHILE HERE, THEY WERE AFTER OIL SO THEY WERE FLARING THE NATURAL GAS INTO THE ATMOSPHERE.

THERE IS LOTS OF VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS.

THERE IS BENZENE, XYLENE, OFF OF THESE WELL PADS.

THERE IS NOISE IMPACTS.

THERE IS WATER.

THEY FIRST TOLD US THEY WERE GOING TO USE NITROGEN AS A FRACKING AGENT.

THIS IS FRACKING.

SO, PEOPLE GO, HEY, WHEN FRACKING COMES TO YOUR COMMUNITY.

THAT TRAIN LEFT THE STATION HERE IN THE SAN JUAN BASIN IN THE 1960'S.

I THINK THAT A LOT OF THESE LANDS, THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MANAGED UNDER MULTIPLE USE AND, AS YOU CAN SEE BEHIND US, I MEAN, THIS INCREDIBLE BADLANDS AREA THAT AT ONE POINT WAS CONSIDERED A SPECIALLY DESIGNATED AREA BY THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT FOR PALEONTOLOGY, FOSSILS, PROBABLY EVERYWHERE, LOT SO PETRIFIED WOOD EVERYWHERE, BUT ALSO JUST THE CULTURAL VALUES OF THE GREATER CHACO LANDSCAPE WHICH HAS NEVER REALLY BEEN GIVEN THE VETTING THAT IT DESERVES.

INDUSTRIALIZATION OF THE LANDSCAPE IS INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE HONORING CHACO INITIATIVE AND WE ALWAYS GET INTO A BIG ARGUMENT WHERE PEOPLE ARE, LIKE, WHAT IS SO COMPELLING ABOUT THIS AREA?

THAT IS NOT FOR ME TO SAY.

I THINK THERE IS BETTER PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT THEIR CONNECTIVITY TO THE LAND BUT IT IS THE WHOLE LANDSCAPE.

IT IS NOT LIKE, YOU KNOW, I FOUND AN ARCHEOLOGICAL SITE OVER HERE.

THIS IS ALL PART OF THE KIND OF THE EXTENDED CHACO PHENOMENON AND I REALLY FEEL LIKE THAT SHOULD BE THE FOCUS OF THESE AGENCIES, IS TO REALLY CONSIDER KIND OF THE LEGACY, LIKE, AND BECAUSE SO MUCH OF THE REST OF THE SAN JUAN BASIN HAS ALREADY BEEN DRILLED FOR OIL AND GAS, I FEEL LIKE THESE AREAS THAT ARE RELATIVELY PRISTINE SHOULD HAVE BEEN KEPT PRISTINE AND THAT SITES LIKE THIS HAVE IMPACTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED.

UNTIL THEY ARE EVALUATED, I THINK I AM GOING TO BE A BIT CONCERNED ABOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.

I THINK PERMITTING NEEDS TO DO A WAY BETTER JOB WITH LIKE MAKING THE ROADS AND MAINTAINING INFRASTRUCTURE.

THEN, THERE IS NOT A LOT OF MONEY GOING BACK INTO THESE COMMUNITIES.

THAT HAS TO CHANGE.

SHOULD HAVE BEEN A NATIONAL PARK, MAN.