Members of the Galisteo Coordination Commitee walk part of the vast Galisteo Basin in search of archaeological evidence. (© 2008 Photos by Denise Tessier)
The New Mexico Independent:
Prospect of drilling in the Galisteo Basin puts pressure on protected archaeological sites.
"GALISTEO -- Four years ago, when a group of about a dozen individuals and agencies succeeded in gathering enough evidence to prompt passage of the Galisteo Basin Archaeological Sites Protection Act, they had no idea the land surrounding the 24 sites they sought to preserve would be eyed for potential oil and gas drilling down the road.
Today, thanks to passage of that protection, the sites listed in the act are outside any direct danger of being exploited for mining or drilling, a Bureau of Land Management archaeologist told the New Mexico Independent (NMI).
But there are hundreds -- even thousands -- of other archaeological sites in the basin, according to state officials.
And as this committed group methodically continues to assess the 24 protected sites and identify other sites that merit protection in the basin, state and Santa Fe County officials scramble under the blanket of a drilling moratorium to put into place regulations that would offer some semblance of protection for portions of this vast archaeological resource not covered by the act -- sites that in some cases are not yet known.
The pressure is on because the Texas company Tecton Energy has been exploring the basin for its potential as an oil and gas site. Because of that pressure, Gov. Bill Richardson's Jan. 24 moratorium was extended for another six months on July 24.
A report on the basin by the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department says more than 3,000 archaeologically significant sites and 160 historic structures have been documented in the basin, and "these represent only a fraction of the resources expected to be present."
The election-year mantra that is pushing for domestic oil and gas drilling is putting pressure on archaeology-rich sites across the West, many of which have not yet been mapped and inventoried.
And, as in much of the West, mapping and discovery efforts are being conducted in the Galisteo Basin without federal funding." More>>>>
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