Environment
Barona Band resurveys reservation after fire


The Barona Band of Mission Indians in southern California was one of the hardest hit by last year's deadly fire but the tribe's effort to protect the reservation is stirring controversy.

After resurveying the reservation boundaries, the tribe found several instances where non-Indian neighbors built structures on tribal land. The tribe has erected fences to re-establish its property.

The move has some neighbors upset because the only way to get to their homes is through a tribal road. The homeowners thought they had rights-of-way but it turns out they never secured legal access.

Still, the tribe has been in talks to buy some of the properties. The tribe lost 39 homes and rental properties to the Cedar Fire.

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New fences make angry neighbors near Barona (The San Diego Union-Tribune 7/30)