Jewell Asked to Monitor Fracking near Chaco Canyon

New Mexico's congressional delegation is asking U.S. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell to monitor a possible escalation of fracking in an area considered sacred by many Native Americans.  In a letter to Jewell, Sens. Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and Rep. Ben Ray Lujan stress the historic, cultural and ecological significance of Chaco Culture National Historic Park.  Teresa Seamster with the Rio Grande Chapter of the Sierra Club says she is hopeful that the Jewell will help protect Chaco Canyon. "I think what they're saying to Sally Jewell is, 'Look, this isn't just a piece of wasteland in New Mexico,’” Seamster explains. “’This is highly significant, culturally significant, on a worldwide level.'"  Udall also wants Interior Department officials to keep him posted as they consider offering more oil and gas leases in the region. He points out that energy development on public and tribal lands increased by 81 percent between 2008 and 2014.  Anna Rondon, a Navajo with the activist group Idle No More in the Four Corners region, says fracking threatens to pollute water and air in an area that houses centuries of history for many tribes and Pueblo people...more