A rancher who sold an important tribal site to the state of Utah is threatening to develop the land unless he gets paid for his mineral rights.

Waldo Wilcox sold the Range Creek ranch for $2.5 million. But he kept the mineral rights and now says he will open the land for drilling unless the state pays the price.

"If Range Creek don't mean that much to them, I'm going to get every dime I can," he said in a documentary that is airing on PBS.

Archaeologists say the site is unlike any other because it has been free from looting. They say the villages date to 1000 A.D. and 1200 A.D and could have been occupied as early as 7,000 years ago.

Get the Story:
Dispute Threatens Utah Canyon's Treasures (AP 11/21)
pwpwd

Related Stories:
Major Utah site may hold clues to tribal past (01/18)
State promises to consult tribes on major site (08/25)
Utah tribes seek inclusion in future of major site (8/16)
BLM notifies tribes of remains at new Utah site (8/12)
Column: New tribal site in Utah already under siege (07/02)
Rancher kept major Indian sites hidden for decades (7/1)
Utah buys ranch containing thousands of sites (06/25)