It is my understanding that the Ute Indian Tribe is very directly impacted by these land exchanges that are being mandated.

In too many instances, rather than seeking appropriate management of Federal lands in Utah, H.R. 5780 seeks to resolve the management conflicts by simply giving Federal land away.

This legislation impacts the administration of about 18 million acres of public land.

Unfortunately, the bill which resulted from that process is a non-starter.

So, to some extent SITLA is betting on Uncompahgre. If the litigation goes a certain way, then those lands would be there to appropriate into whatever value SITLA feels those 100,000 acres have--possibly to develop gas and oil, who knows?

H.R. 5780 falls far short of what it would take to reach a legitimate compromise and leaves many of the stakeholders, including the region's Native American communities, no choice but to oppose the legislation.

H.R. 5780 also includes proposals with significant impacts on Indian land, including the transfer of 100,000 acres of the Ute Indian Tribe's reservation to the state of Utah.

Unfortunately, this bill, which resulted from that process, is a non-starter.

a petition calling for removal, signed by nearly half of Arivaca's residents and supported by Representative Raul Grijalva

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