Native American Affairs Program

Program Support—Lower Colorado Basin
(Interior Region 8)

Formerly the Lower Colorado Region


The Lower Colorado Basin Region encompasses southern Nevada, southern California, most of Arizona, a corner of southwest Utah and a section of west-central New Mexico.  There are approximately 61 federally recognized Indian tribes in this region.  The region's Native American Affairs Office was established in 1990 to assist in engaging in regular and meaningful consultation with Indian tribes, fostering partnership-based relationships, and helping establish approaches for addressing Native American issues in the region.

The principal objective of this region's Native American Affairs Office is to provide assistance in the form of financial and technical resources to help Indian tribes throughout the region develop and maintain reliable and sustainable water supplies.  Overall goals and responsibilities in this region include:

  • Promoting meaningful Federal-Tribal relationships and effective communications among Indian tribes and Reclamation.
  • Providing opportunities for Tribal involvement and viewpoints in Reclamation's decision-making process.
  • Representing Reclamation’s concerns and interests in a fair, honest and unbiased manner.
  • Participating in Federal-Tribal Indian Water Rights Settlements negotiation and implementation.
  • Managing Indian trust assets.
  • Increasing Tribal knowledge of, and involvement in, Reclamation's programs activities.
  • Providing technical assistance to Indian tribes.
  • Supporting the Indian Self-Determination and Tribal Self-Governance programs (Public Law 93-638 Program).

The region consists of a Regional Office in Boulder City, Nevada, and Area Offices in Phoenix, Arizona; Yuma, Arizona; and Temecula, California.  Cooperative working relationships enable Indian tribes to benefit from Reclamation's ability to provide technical expertise and data to assess, plan, and develop water resources on Tribal lands.  Reclamation engineers, planners, hydrologists, and other specialists also assist Indian tribes with general project planning, technical support, endangered species compliance or recovery activities, water conservation, constructed wetlands and wastewater re-use, and drought relief and contingency planning.


Contact Information
Name, Title Office Telephone Number Email
Pam Adams
Regional Native American Affairs Program Manager
Regional Office
500 Fir Street
Boulder City NV  89005
(702) 293-8501 padams@usbr.gov
Lawrence Marquez
Native American Affairs Office Manager
Phoenix Area Office
6150 West Thunderbird Road
Glendale AZ  85306-4001
(621) 773-6213 lmarquez@usbr.gov
Leslie Cleveland
Program Manager, Water Resources
Southern California Area Office
27708 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 202
Temecula CA  92590-2628
(951) 695-5310 lcleveland@usbr.gov
Christopher M. Wallis
Chief, Resource Management Office
Yuma Area Office
7301 Calle Agua Salada
Yuma NM  85364-9763
(928) 343-8215 cwallis@usbr.gov
 
Tribes in the Region (Adobe PDF)
Last Updated: 10/7/20