BLM: Around 45 Navajo families living on BLM land without permission

About 45 Navajo families live on Bureau of Land Management land south of Bloomfield without permission. The families are unable to hook up to water and electrical services because they are living in unauthorized areas. And negotiating a land swap between the federal government and the tribe could take years because the exchange requires input from the local and state BLM offices, the Navajo Nation and the general public, said Dave Evans, the manager for the BLM Farmington District Office. Unauthorized occupancy was discussed Wednesday during a meeting of the BLM's Farmington Resource Advisory Council. The 10-member council provides the BLM input on resource and land management issues on local public lands. American Indian families settling on public lands near Navajo Nation borders is an issue throughout New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. For the BLM Farmington Field Office, the issue is isolated to lands south of Bloomfield along U.S. 550, Evans said. This land often is referred to as "the checkerboard" because it is a mix of federal, private, tribal and state lands. "Families are in our offices on a daily basis ... concerned that they cannot get water and electricity in their homes," said Maureen Joe, an assistant field manager for the BLM's Farmington Field Office. Often, a cluster of around six Navajo families settled in an area and built homes themselves, only to find later that one or two of the homes are built on federal land and are therefore unable to hook up to utilities, Joe said. "Oftentimes you have a home that is 50 feet away from a water line and can't tap into it," said Gary Torres, manager of the BLM Farmington Field Office. Often, a cluster of around six Navajo families settled in an area and built homes themselves, only to find later that one or two of the homes are built on federal land and are therefore unable to hook up to utilities, Joe said. "Oftentimes you have a home that is 50 feet away from a water line and can't tap into it," said Gary Torres, manager of the BLM Farmington Field Office...more