Land and Resource Valuation Workshops

Course No. LRV-11
Valuation of Tribal Lands and Resources: The Opportunity Cost Doctrine and Non-Traditional Valuation Techniques

In a copyrighted article two years ago, Indian Country Today reported that a special report to the court in the Cobell litigation over federal mismanagement of Indian trust funds charges that Navajo land allottees are being short-changed by undervalued rights-of-way appraisals. Alan L. Balaran, the special master in the long-running case provided a handful of examples showing that tribes and private landowners have obtained up to $575 per rod for permitting oil and gas pipelines to traverse their land. By contrast, individual Navajo allottees may have received $25 to $40 per rod for permitting similar rights-of-way on similarly situated land. Tribal lands and resources are valued not only for rights-of-way or leases but also for risk management, natural resource damage assessments, and other environmental cost-benefit studies. Learn why valuation disparities such as those reported in Indian Country Today exist and how to properly value rights-of-ways in Indian country at the International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management’s workshop on Valuation of Tribal Lands and Resources. This workshop reviews traditional valuation techniques and why they are not appropriate for valuating tribal lands and resources. The opportunity cost doctrine non-traditional valuation techniques are explained and demonstrated via case studies.

Who Should Attend: Tribal Officials including Tribal Chairmen, Tribal Council Members, Attorneys, Planners and Resource Managers as well as officials of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Geological Survey, Bureau of Land Management, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and Environmental Protection Agency.

Faculty: Dr. Thomas Tulk; Mervyn L. Tano

Course No. LRV-12
Structuring Tribal Land and Resource Agreements

This workshop provides practical instruction to help tribal decision-makers and staff structure leases, rights-of-way, and other land and resource agreements that maximize economic benefits to the tribe and that are also protective of the wide range of tribal sovereignty, cultural, social, political, environmental, and other interests. Workshop faculty will discuss the benefits and pitfalls of different agreements such as partnerships, leases, and joint ventures and will examine different alternatives to structuring specific provisions to such agreements. The workshop will also include coal-bed methane, mineral development and right-of-way case studies.

Faculty: Dr. Thomas Tulk; Mervyn L. Tano

Course No. LRV-13
Negotiating Tribal Land and Resource Agreements

This workshop provides attendees with negotiating techniques and strategies required to successfully negotiate tribal land and resource agreements. The workshop is third in a series directed at valuing tribal resources, structuring and negotiating agreements. Workshops I & II are not prerequisites for this workshop. Participants will learn the importance of preparation for negotiating land and resource agreements. This preparation must be completed well in advance of the first negotiating session. Proper preparation expedites the negotiating process and insures the resulting agreement supports tribal goals and interests. Particular attention will be given to assisting tribes define the needs and objectives that must be satisfied through the negotiating process. These needs and objectives are the foundations for developing the negotiating strategy and define acceptable outcomes from the negotiations. Negotiating tactics will be presented and methods for incorporating the tactics into the negotiating strategy will be demonstrated. In addition, attendees will learn how to separate the opposition’s actual interests from their stated positions to better facilitate successful

Faculty: Dr. Thomas Tulk; Mervyn L. Tano

International Institute for Indigenous Resource Management