Show i I 1 i f y S J 1 r t b bS i 4 S i. i I IF r r F t I i t 1 k I ft I fa I f 11 11 i 1 r J iJ t ON HAND TO GREET Secretary Rogers Morton third from left and Commissioner of Indian Affairs Louis Bruce second from left is Miss Sec Morton Assures Oil Shale Rights to Utes At a banquet Tuesday of last week with over in attendance at the Bottle Hol Hollow low Resort Secretary of the Interior Rogers C. C B B. B Morton assured the Ute Indian Indian In dian Tribes Tribe's ownership to over acres of oil shale land rights SECRETARY MORTON was in Utah last week visiting and reviewing the natural r resource developments in the state He met with officials in Salt Lake City and discussed the Central Utah Project Project Pro and the problem of obtaining sufficient suf funds to keep the project going Morton said the environmental study of the proposed fired coal-fired power generating plant on the Plateau in southern Utah should be ready by February February February ary or March He lIe also said he would Go to bat for the state to get over acres of oil shale lands blocked up in a land exchange to give Utah a large enough acreage to entice private industry to produce oil from the shale SECRETARY MORTON was shown the Strawberry phase of the Bonneville unit of the CUP on his way flying to Ft Duchesne Duchesne Du Du- chesne to meet with the Ute Tribe After his meeting with the Tribe he left the next day for southern Utah to examine the and related natural resource resource re reo source plans in this part of the state At the Bottle Hollow banquet Secretary Morton explained the Ute Tribes Tribe's oil shale holdings as follows I am very pleased to report to you that before I left Washington an order was signed revoking a 1930 oil shale withdrawal with order as it pertained to your Indian Indian In In- dian lands Thus we have erased any doubt that might have existed as to the Tribes Tribe's own own- f of lands and minerals affected by bythe bythe bythe the 1930 order I HAVE instructed the Bureau of Land Management l to note this action on their land records In a few days the new Secretarial Order will also appear in inthe inthe inthe the Federal Register for public notice The problem cleared up by the new Maxine Natchee's left secretary of the Ute tile Tribe Business Committee Henry Cuch Tribal Administration Administration Admin Admin- officer and Clifford Duncan order was complex Let me explain it In 1930 an Executive Order was was issued issued that withdrew from disposal all the deposits deposits de de- de posits of oil shale and the lands containing containing contain contain- ing those deposits that are owned by the United States within the State of Utah and several other states THEN IN 1945 the Secretary of the Interior restored to the Uintah and Ouray Tribe the of opened lands on the reservations including some lands withdrawn by the 1930 order However in the the Geological Survey issued an oil shale classification order that appeared to have a possible effect upon certain of the Indian lands restored to Indian ownership in 1945 The validity of the 1945 order with respect ct to lands classified as oil shale lands was in doubt These included grazing reserve reserve reserve re re- re- re serve lands timber ber reserve lands over acres of land an minerals restored ed to the Tribe in 1945 mineral rights for another acres and certain individual individual in in- allotments NOW THE doubts are removed by my new order There is no longer any question that these lands and minerals in question are In Tribal ow ownership Also visiting Ft Duchesne with Secretary Secretary Sec Sec- Morton and Commissioner Bruce were Pete Denver regional coordinator coordinator co co- co for the Department of Interior David Gwinn assistant assist to the Secretary of Interior Henry assistant to the Commissioner Don Nef bureau chief of Time Magazine and representing represent represent- ing the Phoenix Area Director was Charles Charles Charles Char Char- les Worthman of the Phoenix Area office |