I am deeply concerned about potential leasing and exploration for oil, gas, and other minerals within the Galisteo Basin of New Mexico.

The basin, with its rugged mesas and open vistas, is one of the most pristine natural landscapes in our state.

The basin also holds large ancestral Pueblo villages, extensive rock art, Spanish Colonial period settlements and missions, and historic trails.

The archaeological remains of more than seven centuries of human endeavor in the Galisteo Basin lie largely undisturbed as a legacy for future generations.

Recognizing the national significance of the basin's archaeological and historic resources, President Bush signed the Galisteo Basin Archaeological Sites Protection Act into law in 2004. With guidance from the Bureau of Land Management, the Galisteo Coordination Committee, of which I am a member, is responsible for directing the preservation, protection, identification, and interpretation of the 24 nationally significant archaeological and historical sites named in the Galisteo Act.

The coordination committee is pursuing this mission through collaboration and partnership with public, private and tribal stakeholders.

A key provision of the Galisteo Act is the withdrawal from mineral entry of lands containing these resources. Accordingly, the Bureau of Land Management, the New Mexico State Land Office, and Santa Fe County have withdrawn the sites named in the act from future mineral entry.

The Galisteo act sets aside for preservation only a small fraction of the basin's natural landscape and cultural resources.

In view of this, I urge public land managers and private landowners to proceed with caution when considering leasing of mineral rights in the remaining areas of the basin.

It is incumbent upon us all as citizens and stewards of our common heritage to safeguard the basin's viewsheds, natural quiet, flora and fauna, archaeological sites, soil, and aquifers from degradation and pollution.

Our patrimony is at stake.

Santa Fean Robert Powers is a retired National Park Service archaeologist and a current member of the Galisteo Coordination Committee.