The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe of Colorado is concerned about the purchase of a sacred mountain, said Terry Knight, the spiritual leader of the tribe.

Knight said he supports the protection of Ute Mountain in New Mexico. But he said turning the land over to the federal government could open sacred sites and burial grounds to looters and mining.

The Trust for Public Land bought the 14,344 acre mountain and transferred it to the Bureau of Land Management using money from the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. The group says the land will be safe from development.

Get the Story:
Land deal irks tribe (The Farmington Daily Times 4/29)
Ute Mountain Protection Completed (NM) (Trust for Public Land 4/25)