The Quileute Tribe of Washington has closed access to a popular beach and is threatening to close another in hopes of resolving a land dispute with the National Park Service.

Tribal leaders want to increase the size of the reservation, which is bounded on three sides by Olympic National Park and on one side by the Pacific Ocean. They need more land to avoid being washed into the ocean.

Park officials say they want to protect the reservation from flooding. But they haven't agreed to the tribe's request for 800 acres of private and park land.

The two sides also can't agree on the boundary of the park. The tribe says it owns most of the prized Rialto Beach. The beach remains open but the tribe has closed access to Second Beach, which can only be reached by going through tribal land.

Get the Story:
Parks and tribe locked in land dispute (AP 11/29)

Relevant Links:
Quileute Tribe, National Resources - http://www.quileutetribe.org
Olympic National Park - http://www.nps.gov/olym

Related Stories:
Quileute Tribe negotiates for new piece of land (08/21)
Quileute Tribe turns up pressure on land issue (07/31)
Editorial: Help Quileute Tribe with boundary issue (10/13)
Quileute Tribe to meet over park boundary dispute (10/12)
Quileute Tribe, National Park Service in dispute (10/5)