The Western Regional Office, located in Phoenix Arizona has a service population of approximately 143,000 American Indian people enrolled in forty-two tribes.  It is responsible for 12,800,000 acres primarily in the states of Arizona, Nevada and Utah.  Portions of it are also in California, Oregon and Idaho.  Fourteen Agencies are directed by the Western Regional Office.

A swift overview of the Region’s tribes include the O’odham, Yaqui, Yuman and Pai Tribes of Arizona’s low and mid deserts and Grand Canyon, and the Apache of the mid-deserts and mountain forests.  The  Hopi  live on Arizona’s Colorado Plateau mesas.  Nevada has many bands and tribes of Shoshone and Paiute people.  The many tribes and bands of Ute people are the inspiration for the name of the state of Utah.

The Region is as diverse in landscape as it is in Tribes.  It covers the superheated Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts with their cactus, mesquite, creosote and endlessly spiny plants.  The towering ranges and vast valleys of the Great Basin are unmistakable geologic features of the region.  The snow-capped high Uintah mountains on the Utah/Wyoming border are the northern and eastern reaches of the region.

The Colorado River and its tributaries are the life blood for much of the region.  Within the Great Basin, the Truckee, Humboldt and Walker are the major rivers.  Pyramid and Summit Lakes are the last remnants of the prehistoric lakes covering Nevada when the glaciers of the last ice-age melted.

Notable economic products of the region’s reservations are a wide variety of farmed crops including many vegetables, corn and alfalfa.  Timber is an important resource on some reservations as are cattle and horses.  Mineral resources that include sand, gravel, copper, gold, silver, oil, natural gas and other important materials are found on reservation lands.

Divisions and Branch Responsibilities

• Regional Director

 

Deputy Regional Director Indian Services

 

• Division of Indian Self Determination
• Division of Housing
• Division of Human Services
• Division of Tribal Government
• Division of Transportation

 

Deputy Regional Director Trust Services

• Division of Real Estate Services
  • Agricultural and Rangeland Leasing
  • Business Leasing
  • Land Transactions
  • Enforcement

• Division of Forestry
  • Timber Measurement
  • Timber Sales
  • Woodlands
  • Fire, Fuels, Prevention in some locations

• Division of Natural Resources

• Water Resources/Water Rights
• Rangeland Management
• Safety of Dams
• Soil Surveys
• Hydrology

 

• Division of Probate
  • Records Deaths
  • Probates Estate for Heirs

 

• Division of Environmental Quality Services

• National Environmental Quality Act (NEPA) compliance and review
• Endangered Specias Act Compliance
• Archaeological Resources Protection
• Southwest Strategy
• Border Coordinating Committee

• Division of Environmental and Safety Management

• Facilities Inspections
• Facilities Cleanup
• Legal Compliance

• OTHER BIA OFFICES – CENTRAL OFFICE

• Office of the Special Trustee
  • Oversees Indian Trust
  • Compiles Trust Records
  • Manages Trust Records Systems

• Accounting

• Pays Vendors and Contractors
• Keeps Records of Accounts
• Conducts Audits

• Central Office Probate

• Oversight of Agency Probate Programs

• Budget

• Compiles Budget
• Distributes Funding
• Tracks Funding
• Audits and Reports

• Acquisitions

• Purchase Supplies, Materials and Equipment
• Contract Award and Management

• Property

• Federal Property, Material and Equipment Records
• Federal Property, Material and Equipment Inventory
• Federal Property, Material and Equipment Disposal
• Mail Delivery,
• Utility Management

• Security

 

• Information Technology, Office of the Chief Information Officer
• Facilities Management
• Records Management
• Law Enforcement

• Agency Superintendent
• Deputy Superintendent – Trust Services

• Administration/ Branch Of Administrative Services
• Self-Determination
• Tribal Operations
• Aid to Tribal Government
• Indian Services
• Housing Improvement Program
• Facility Management
• Realty/Real Estate Services
• Probate/Probate & Estate Services
• Natural Resources
• Forestry
• Wildland Fire Program
• Fire Prevention
• Soil Conservation
• Irrigation Section
• Operation & Maintenance Unit
• Electrical Services
• San Carlos Irrigation Project- Indian Works
• Information Resources
• Law Enforcement

• Acquisitions/Property
• Transportation
• Roads Maintenance

• Social Services
• Supai Social Services Office