New Mexico adopts rule to protect cultural sites

[Judi Lynn]

By Scott Wyland [e-mail]
Oct 18, 2022 Updated 51 min ago

A rule aimed at protecting resources with cultural and historical significance on state lands — following what Indigenous advocates have described as decades of harmful intrusion on their ancestral sites — will go into effect Dec. 1.

The State Land Office's new rule will require anyone planning a soil-disturbing project in the agency's jurisdiction to conduct an archaeological survey to ensure the work won't damage what could be deemed a cultural property.

Fossil fuel extraction, mining, agriculture and other industries that use state lands will be affected when it comes to activities such as drilling wells, laying pipelines, excavating ore and building roads.

When State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard first proposed the rule last year, she said it was important to require the surveys, rather than simply recommending them, as her predecessor had done.

More:
https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-mexico-adopts-rule-to-protect-cultural-sites/article_da46e1ce-4efa-11ed-bf8c-ef1169ccf9d4.html

[duhneece]

1. This is good news nt

[alittlelark]

2. It needed to happen.