Don't Pave the Chaco Road: What You Can Do To Help

Many thanks to all of you who have written emails to regulators in efforts to stop the paving of the north road into Chaco Canyon. If it were not for our emails, the entire road might be paved by now. We need to continue to write emails to those listed below. Please visit the Chaco Alliance website for updates.

Five main points must be stressed in your emails. Please add your own thoughts and experience.

1. The paving of the road will be a disaster to this World Heritage Site. Increased visitation will overwhelm the staff and infrastructure, threaten sacred/archaeological sites, and change the nature of the visitor experience forever.
2. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be completed, not simply the Environmental Assessment (EA).

3. Public meetings must be held throughout the state, not just in San Juan County. Newspapers in Albuquerque and Santa Fe have opposed the paving.
4. Improvement to the road needs to be in the form of good maintenance, fencing, and good signs, not paving. Paving will actually decrease the safety of the road, due to the potholes created, but not repaired.
5. All planned energy exploration near Chaco needs to be made public. A protective zone must be established around the park. Our organization also continues to research whether proper consultation has occurred with the numerous Native American tribes that claim cultural affiliation with Chaco.

Who to write emails to:

Greg Heitmann, Federal Highway Administration

Kevin Mentz, URS Corporation

Dave Keck, San Juan County

Katherine Slick, State Preservation Officer

Tom Udall, U.S. Congressman. It is appropriate to ask Congressman Udall how this project is progressing and the amount of federal funds expended to date on the "environmental document."

Please bcc to Chaco Alliance.

Thank you for whatever you feel called to do. We ARE making a difference.