Greater Chaco Landscape Sacred Sites

 A few miles north of Chaco Canyon lies the remains of an ancient outpost.  It was undoubtedly an imposing and impressive place in 900 AD.  Built atop a towering butte, it would have been visible for many miles.  At night, great fires would have urged weary travelers onward.  Even now, at sunset, for example, or when the wind rises, it is an evocative and powerful place.

Yet, today, it has become a different kind of outpost. This is where intensive oil and gas development, which has increased over 400 percent in the last decade, completely transforms much of the northwestern New Mexico landscape.

On this past Monday in Santa Fe, during the first of several congressional hearings, tribal leaders and key witnesses spoke about the need for stronger Federal oil and gas regulations.  Acoma Pueblo Gov. Brian Valio told members of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources that not enough is being done to safeguard sacred sites in the Greater Chaco Landscape beyond the National Park at Chaco Canyon.  "Many cultural resources and sites exist which the Bureau of Land Management does not currently recognize", he said.

Our current  administration must honor repeated requests from tribal leaders and withdraw lands surrounding Chaco Canyon from future oil and gas leasing. The Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Indian Affairs must finish the long-awaited joint management plan for the area.  The plan should be based on a detailed viewscape and soundscape field study.  It must include significantly stronger protections for cultural resources, as well as local residents, including limiting the location and scale of development.

We need proper leadership more now than ever to accomplish this.

be strong, be safe, Talon

Harley Snow Glide

 Lookin' like no matter where you are across the US, this has been a cold long winter.  My driveway has been covered with snow and ice for it seems like a very long time.  LowRider is sitting here in the studio connected to a battery tender.  These conditions cause bikers to get a little bit crazy.

Yesterday got a text from my ridin' buddy next door.  Ask me if I had seen the new Harley Snow Glide.  Why no, I hadn't.  That all started a bit of finger typing back and forth.  Felt the need to share it.  Went something like this...

"Have you seen the new Harley Snow Glide?" 

"Quick...we need to get one of these for the neighborhood" 

"Maybe they have one that attaches to a LowRider"

"Tried to just order one.  Out of stock.  Backordered until June.  They did have one for BMW" 

"Interesting.  I just checked, and while they have the blade part, sadly the attachment hardware is backordered until August.  I guess it's been a rough enough winter all around the country that demand has exceeded supply.  Oh well...perhaps next winter"

"Well sorry to hear that.  But, if they have the BMW blade I could weld some angle iron onto your BMW frame.  We could then use some  spray cans to touch things up.  What do you think?  Could be pretty f@#king bad boy looking." 

"Hmm, hadn't thought of that.  Tell you what, when it comes in I'll give you a shout and we can jigger something together.  Sound like a plan?"

"Perfect.  I will get things ready.  Thinkin' about 4 inch angle iron would be good.  Maybe thinkin' NOT to paint it.  Leave it rusty.  Really bad boy stuff." 

"When you get the materials, could you get some extra so so we can embellish the blade with little curlicue decorations and the like?  Also need a little platform to hold my dashboard Jesus."

"Absolutely.  Sorry I should have thought of the platform.  I'm on it." 

Sure hope spring gets here pretty darn quick.

be strong, be safe Talon 

HWY83 Unspoiled, Unbroken, Dead North

The current issue of Harley-Davidson HOG® Magazine features the HWY83 story I rode, photographed, and wrote last summer.  With the Polar Vortex across the country causing some mighty cold conditions, thought the story might warm you up a bit.  Even my bike is sitting in my heated studio with the battery tender keeping things warm today.  Here is a link to the pdf copy of the full story.  HWY 83.  

Keep warm.  Hope you enjoy reading the story as much as I did creating it!

Thought for the day:

I love being on the road.  It keeps me present. Because I'm not allowing my brain to get into any sort of pattern, where I start worrying about things that don't matter.  If I'm in a new place every day, I have to be alert, I'm forced to be in the present moment so I can take what comes.

be strong, be safe, Talon

Chaco Outliers

 After Chaco Canyon monument was established in 1907, subsequent exploration led to the discovery of outlying sites, some as far as 100 miles from Chaco Canyon.  These sites, spread out over 30,000 square miles, were the remnants of a network of outlying communities, all linked to Chaco Canyon and the other sites by an extensive system of prehistoric roads.  In the late 1920's, the monument was expanded to include additional sites that were part of Chaco Canyon.

In the 1950's and 1960's, increased energy and mineral exploration and development in the region led to the discovery of a number of additional Chacoan outliers.  In 1980, Congress passed Public Law 96 550.  Title V of that Act renamed the monument to Chaco Culture National Historical Park, enlarging the site by approximately 13,000 acres to a size of approximately 33,990 acres.

The legislation also created a system of Chaco Culture Archeological Protection Sites, consisting of 33 outlying sites totaling approximately 8,800 acres.  Unlike Chaco Culture National Historical Park, these sites are not administered as units of the National Park System.  Instead, they are managed primarily by the Bureau of Land Management.

Large deposits of uranium, natural gas, oil and coal are believed to lie beneath the San Juan basin. Energy exploration and development are permitted on and adjacent to the archeological protection sites as long as such exploration and development does not endanger the cultural values of the sites.  The Bureau of Land Management is the Federal Agency responsible for the proposed leasing of an additional 4,000 oil and gas wells adjacent to many of these sacred sites.

To learn and see more visit Question of Power. 

be strong, be safe, Talon