# 119-hr-2861: Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act of 2025

119-hr-2861, Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act of 2025, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM); status introduced (as of 2026-04-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2861
- As of: 2026-04-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2861
- Congress: 119
- Title: Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act of 2025
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-10
- Sponsor: Rep. Leger Fernandez, Teresa [D-NM-3] (D-NM)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources
- Touches household money: no
- Last recorded action: 2026-04-21

## Summary

**Creates a protected Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area** by withdrawing federal land around Chaco Culture National Historical Park from public‑land, mining, and mineral‑leasing laws and authorizing the Interior to convey or exchange some withdrawn lands to Indian Tribes under an approved resource management plan. - Indian Tribes can receive or exchange withdrawn federal land under a resource management plan, giving tribes a direct way to protect culturally and spiritually important sites. - Withdraws the marked area from new oil, gas, mining, geothermal, and most leasing activity to shield archaeological sites, sacred places, local communities, and the park’s dark skies from further development. It keeps tribal mineral rights intact and allows rights‑of‑way for water, power, utilities, and roads to serve nearby communities. - Non‑producing federal oil and gas leases that meet the bill’s “covered lease” definition are automatically terminated and cannot be extended, reducing the pool of potential new development around the park.

## Cosponsors (2)

- Rep. Stansbury, Melanie A. [D-NM-1] (D-NM), 2025-04-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2] (D-NM), 2025-04-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Defines the Chaco withdrawal area map: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would spell out which lands count as federal land in the withdrawal area. It would use an official BLM map dated January 6, 2022, and make it available at BLM offices. It would include land the federal government buys later, but it would exclude trust land.
- Keeps utilities and tribal mineral rights: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would still allow rights‑of‑way and upgrades for water, power, utilities, and roads on the withdrawn federal land when they serve nearby communities. It would not change tribal or individual mineral rights on trust or allotment land. Mineral rights for Tribes and Navajo allotte…
- Limits on drilling and mining near Chaco: cost, low. If enacted, the bill would block new mining claims and new oil, gas, and geothermal leases on certain federal land around Chaco Culture National Historical Park. It would not change valid existing rights. Non‑producing oil and gas leases that did not start drilling by the end of their primary term…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026
- 119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-2861 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2861)

## Related
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-5356: National Infrastructure Bank Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5356)
- [119-hr-7853: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7853)
- [119-hr-10115: Radiation Exposure Compensation Reauthorization Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-10115)
- [119-hr-51: Washington, D.C. Admission Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-51)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2861 (as of 2026-04-21).