Arizona News – On October 18 Prescott National Forest Supervisor Sarah Clawson signed the Decision Notice authorizing the equal value exchange of lands currently owned by the Yavapai Apache Nation for parcels on National Forest lands.
In celebration of this historic occasion, the Yavapai-Apache Nation will host a signing ceremony on November 4 beginning at 10 a.m at the Nation’s Tunlii Community Center, located at 1520 E. Cherry Creek Rd., Camp Verde, Arizona.
The project includes exchange to the United States of approximately 4,782 acres of inholdings within the National Forest System, owned by the Yavapai-Apache Nation. These six parcels are located in four national forests – Prescott, Coconino, Kaibab and Apache-Sitgreaves – and are surrounded by National Forest System lands. In exchange, the Nation is receiving approximately 3,201 acres of federal land, most of which are in the wildland-urban interface, all of which are a part of the Yavapai-Apache ancestral homelands, and nearly all contiguous to the Nation’s existing lands near Camp Verde, Arizona.
This decision concludes a multi-year, multi-agency planning effort first proposed in 1996. According to Supervisor Clawson, “Through the years, there have been many delays and changes to the proposal, but the Forest Service and Yavapai-Apache Nation have never lost sight of their joint objective of developing a land exchange that would benefit both public and tribal lands. This decision is the culmination of many years of joint effort and will support the mission of the Forest Service as well as provide for the economic and social needs of the Nation’s growing population.”
Yavapai-Apache Nation Chairwoman Tanya Lewis adds, “This land exchange is historic for the Yavapai-Apache Nation, providing a sustainable future socially, economically and culturally, and is a direct result of our collaborative work with the U.S. Forest Service and the many stakeholders throughout the Verde Valley that were participatory and included in the process. We are proud to share this historic land exchange for the Yavapai-Apache Nation with the U.S. Forest Service and our neighbors throughout the Verde Valley, demonstrating that working together we can collectively achieve conservation of natural resources, preservation of cultural heritage, and cultivation of tribal and regional economies to ensure a future of hope and sustainability.”
For maps and additional information about land exchange please visit the project website fs.usda.gov/project/prescott/?project=63848. Additional information is also available at yavapai-apache.org/land-exchange/.