The Ute Mountain Ute tribal council has passed a resolution opposing a federal initiative that is on the verge of protecting 160,000 acres of public lands in Montezuma County as a national monument.

A resolution passed by the tribal council Feb. 24 outlines the reasons a federal land designation for the Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) slated for a monument could adversely impact the tribe’s historical use of BLM land within the region, including Indian use of established hunting grounds and land utilized for ceremonial purposes.

"We are concerned because the area being proposed for conservation overlaps hunting grounds granted to our tribe under 1874 Brunot Treaty," said Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Chairman Ernest House on Wednesday.

"Once a site is designated as a conservation district, national park, or monument there are more restrictions regarding hunting, so we felt the tribe needed to be more involved to make sure those rights stay as they are under the treaty obligations and that the designations in that area recognizes those rights. So we feel that this concern needs to be clarified," House said.

The ACEC touches a portion of the Ute Mountain Ute reservation on their north and west boundaries, and surrounds portions of Ute trust lands near the Hovenweep National Monument.

The vast region of canyonlands and high desert terrain, scattered throughout with ancient Ancestral Puebloan ruins, is expected to be declared a national monument by President Clinton on the recommendation of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt very soon.

But the issues brought up by the tribe and sent to Babbitt in the resolution represent concerns the tribal government hopes Babbitt will respect in his decision concerning management of the 160,000-acre parcel.

Resolution 2000-37 states, "The Ute Mountain Tribe opposes Congressional or administrative designation of the ACEC unless the . . . Tribal concerns are adequately addressed to the satisfaction of the Tribal Council." It further authorizes Tribal Chairman Ernest House "to take such action as may be necessary to carry out the intent of this Resolution."

Those tribal concerns, some of which are similar to those addressed to Babbitt in an April 3 letter from the Montezuma County commissioners, demand that more attention be given to potential impacts that a monument would have on Ute Mountain interests.

The resolution points out that under a consent decree entered into with the Colorado Division of Wildlife in 1980, the Ute Mountain Ute tribe has hunting rights on roughly 2,000 acres of the ACEC, "and the tribe must ensure that such lands are not included in the ACEC and that Tribal hunting rights on such lands are not affected."

Sacred sites within the proposed monument area used for ceremonial purposes like the spring Bear Dance should also be allowed to continue unimpeded, and Ute Mountain artifacts and burial grounds likely in the area "must be protected from increased visitation," the resolution states.

Additionally the document states that the tribe gets assurances it will be included in future discussions concerning any federal designation.

"The Ute Mountain tribe is interested in more consultation for developing the conservation area," House said. "The Native Americans have not been included in that process enough so we want to especially ensure that our treaty issues are dealt with in those traditional hunting territories."

Other concerns listed include insuring that road access to the reservation and tribal grazing operations not be restricted because of federal efforts to protect the region; that impacts from more tourism and the potential for increased trespassing onto tribal lands if the area is designated a monument be adequately addressed; and that federal regulatory laws related to the monument never extend outside of the ACEC area to "limit the Tribe’s development of its resources on reservation lands.:"

In an April 3 letter, the Montezuma County Commission indicated support for the tribe’s concerns, and Babbitt has said in a phone conversation with the commissioners that the proclamation will include a local advisory board that will work toward developing a final management plan for the region, which would include the Ute Mountain Ute Chairman.