Division of Fee to TrustDivision of Fee to Trust

Partners in Action ConferenceJune 23 - 25, 2014

Tribes Serviced/Services Tribes Serviced/Services ProvidedProvidedThe Division of Fee to Trust processes land into trust and reservation proclamation applications for the following Tribes:

Ho-Chunk NationMille Lacs Band of OjibweOneida Tribe Of Indians of WisconsinShakopee Mdwakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota

Geographical Service Geographical Service AreasAreas

FY 2015 Program FY 2015 Program AccomplishmentsAccomplishments

5 Parcels Taken into Trust Status (1,898.19 acres)

8 Completed Cases (374.22 acres)

5 Notice of Decisions issued

158 Pending applications comprising 8,411 acres.

Current ChallengesCurrent Challenges

The number of appeals, negative comments, or objections filed or received from local governments and private citizens has greatly increased.

Currently, more than 70% of our active fee to trust applications have received appeals, negative comments, or objections.

Current ChallengesCurrent ChallengesWe are reliant on the Office of the Field Solicitor (OFS) to provide Preliminary Title Opinions and Final Title Opinions for our fee to trust applications. At the end of FY14, we began to experience delays from OFS in processing our PTO and FTO requests. As of 6/4/15, we have 32 legal opinions pending at the OFS. Because a PTO and FTO are required to complete an acquisition, there will be two significant delays in processing fee to trust acquisitions. These delays could be costly if we need to reissue notices, update environmental site assessments, or request updated title searches due to these delays.

Staff&contactinformation:

RussellBaker-RealtySpecialistSupervisor612-725-4583

russell.baker@bia.gov

PamelaButterfield-RealtySpecialist612-725-4536

pamela.butterfield@bia.gov

AndrewNichols-RealtySpecialist612-725-4536

andrew.nichols@bia.gov

ThomasWilkins-RealtySpecialist612-725-4586

thomas.wilkins@bia.gov