A draft environmental impact statement considering the consequences of transferring certain public lands to the Navajo Tribe under the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act, P.L. 93-531, is now available.
According to a notice published in the Federal Register August 18, single copies of the statement may be obtained from the Flagstaff Administrative Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, P.O. Box 1889, Flagstaff, Arizona 86002.
The legislation provided that the tribe be given the opportunity to purchase 250,000 acres of public lands to facilitate the relocation of some 3,000 Navajos from the former Navajo-Hopi joint use area.
The EIS considers land, applied for by the tribe, in Arizona's House Rock Valley and Paria Plateau and five alternate tracts in Arizona and New Mexico.
Public hearings on the statement will be held September 11 at Farmington, New Mexico; September 12, Oraibi, Arizona; September 13 Page Arizona; and September 15 at Phoenix.
Comments on the statement should be sent within 4 days to William Benjamin, at the Flagstaff address above. For further information call Benjamin at 602-774-5261.
