Last August, Interior established the Office of Minerals Evaluation to assess the mineral estates for fractionated Indian allotments and to estimate the fair market value of the property. The office, located in Lakewood, Colo., is staffed with specialists in geographic information systems, geology, mineral-appraisal techniques, mineral economics and mining engineering. Staff members use mostly existing information — through sources such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Geological Survey; state mineral-extraction permit databases; agricultural photo-imagery databases; and land-status databases — to determine if a parcel includes a viable mineral deposit, if a market for the minerals exists, and the estimated value.

In less than a year, the office has made remarkable strides. “We’ve completed mineral evaluations for Quapaw in Oklahoma, Bois Forte and Fond du Lac in Minnesota, Pine Ridge, Rosebud and Standing Rock in the Dakotas, and about 28,000 individual parcels,” OME Director Bob Davidoff said. The office gathers geology, soil and other data to provide the Indian Land Consolidation Office with values for their buy-back program, to support Indian land appraisers, and to provide BIA with information to help tribes develop economic resources.