Permit freeze puts Navajo ranching families on hold
WINDOW ROCK
The Bureau of Indian Affairs’ decision to halt grazing permit processing on the Navajo Nation has left probate recipients and longtime permit holders in limbo. Ranching families and Navajo leaders say the pause came with little warning after years of work and expense to secure grazing rights.
Delegate Vince James, speaking March 2, said the pause was sudden, poorly coordinated with Navajo leadership and potentially devastating for families who spent years navigating probate, court filings, name changes, conservation plans and related fees tied to permit transfers. Some, he said, spent thousands of dollars along the way.
“They never talked with Resource and Development Committee, nor did Department of Agriculture talk with leadership,” James said.
James said the agreement appeared to have been handled between the Navajo Nation Department of Agriculture and the BIA natural resources office without adequate consultation with tribal leadership. He questioned who within the Department of Agriculture had authority over the decision and why families who followed the required process were now being left without permits.
“A lot of the grazing permit are just all pending status, and they have not been reissued out to the new individuals that’s supposed to be holding that grazing permit,” he said. “So a lot of these families did what was required of them, and now they don’t get a graze increment, even though they spent thousands and thousands of dollars for some of them, for attorney fees.”
To read the full article, please see the April 9, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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