Forest Service, Yavapai-Apache Nation agree to land exchange deal in Arizona

PHOENIX — The Prescott National Forest and the Yavapai-Apache Nation have finalized a federal land exchange nearly three decades in the making.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation exchanged roughly 4,782 acres of non-federal lands across six parcels to the Forest Service for approximately 3,207 acres of federal lands, nearly all of which are contiguous to the Nation’s existing Camp Verde Indian Reservation on either side of the Verde River, according to the final decision notice.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation will host a signing ceremony on Monday at Tunlii Community Center at 10 a.m. in Camp Verde to celebrate an effort first proposed to the Forest Service in 1996. An updated exchange proposal was submitted in 2023.

“This land exchange is historic for the Yavapai-Apache Nation, providing a sustainable future socially, economically and culturally, and is a direct result of our collaborative work with the U.S. Forest Service and the many stakeholders throughout the Verde Valley that were participatory and included in the process,” Yavapai-Apache Nation Chairwoman Tanya Lewis said in a press release.

“We are proud to share this historic land exchange for the Yavapai-Apache Nation with the U.S. Forest Service and our neighbors throughout the Verde Valley, demonstrating that working together we can collectively achieve conservation of natural resources, preservation of cultural heritage and cultivation of tribal and regional economies to ensure a future of hope and sustainability.”

In the 1990s, the Yavapai-Apache Nation began acquiring privately-owned land within National Forests with hopes of exchanging them for land adjacent to Reservation lands, Lewis explained. 

The six parcels received by the Forest Service span four National Forests: Prescott, Coconino, Kaibab and Apache-Sitgreaves (map here). The Yavapai-Apache Nation described much of the land as “unspoiled.”

Why did Forest Service, Yavapai-Apache Nation agree to land exchange?

The federal agency’s listed purpose in this exchange is more effective management of National Forest System lands through consolidating existing ownership patterns. This would improve conservation and management efforts of the four National Forests.

The Red Mountain at Yavapai Ranch parcel acquired by the Forest Service includes six sections in the upper Verde River watershed, allowing the Forest Service to manage the headwaters of a river the Nation and nearby communities such as Cottonwood and Camp Verde depend on.

The acquired land also presents opportunities for outdoor recreation and wildlife corridor management for animals such as elk, bears, javelina and antelope. The Sierra Club’s Grand Canyon chapter, an environmental organization, praised the proposal back in June for its preservation of the river and surrounding habitat.

Another listed reason for the deal is to follow the United States’ trust responsibility to ensure sufficient lands for the Nation to thrive in a sustainable homeland.

For the Yavapai-Apache Nation, the purpose was to significantly expand reservation land for current and future housing development as the population grows.

The exchange also returns ancestral homelands.

“Through the years, there have been many delays and changes to the proposal, but the Forest Service and Yavapai-Apache Nation have never lost sight of their joint objective of developing a land exchange that would benefit both public and tribal lands,” Prescott National Forest Supervisor Sarah Clawson said in the release.

“This decision is the culmination of many years of joint effort and will support the mission of the Forest Service as well as provide for the economic and social needs of the Nation’s growing population.”

The Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires land exchanges be of equal value, and the appraisals adhered to regulatory requirements. The value of the federal parcels exceeds the value of the non-federal parcels by a difference within 25%, which is allowed under the Code of Federal Regulations. The Yavapai-Apache Nation will pay the United States to equalize the value.

The Yavapai-Apache Nation has applied to the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs to add the land to their existing Reservation.