House approves bill to authorize land swap for Ute Tribe of Utah

Tuesday, June 19, 2012  

By a voice vote, the House approved H.R.4027, a bill to authorize a land swap for the Ute Tribe of Utah, on Monday.

The bill allows the tribe to protect 20,000 acres of culturally important sites on the reservation. The tribe already owns the surface rights but the mineral rights are owned by the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, a state agency.

The bill transfers the mineral rights to the federal government. In exchange, the state will receive mineral rights in another area where oil and gas development is already underway.

The tribe will partner with the state to develop the resources.

Get the Story:
House OKs Ute land swap (The Salt Lake Tribune 6/19)
Utah to swap mineral rights with Ute Indians in land trade (AP 6/18)

Related Stories:
Editorial: Rare bipartisan effort for land swap with Ute Tribe (03/23)
House subcommittee holds hearing for Ute Tribe land swap (3/21)