These requirements can be complex, Tso said. They can include analysis for soil, landscape, endangered species, engineering and cultural resources. Outreach to the public about the project and the impact it might have on the environment and cultural resources is also often required. And if archaeological artifacts are found, a developer may have preserve and move them to a safe location.

ETD is designed to handle all of those complexities for private companies working on a project on the Nation’s land or for tribal enterprises, she said.

For example, ETD worked with the Navajo Nation Gaming Enterprise to help build the Twin Arrows Casino. That project required the negotiations between several different land owners. It also involved the identification, recording and mitigation of several archaeological sites, which can be very expensive, she said.

Tso also works with individual chapters within the Navajo Nation to help them with land use plans, siting new senior or youth centers or community centers. Chapters are similar to counties, but they don’t have as much political power, she said. For example, chapters don’t have the same control over finances and the construction of infrastructure that Arizona counties have. They have to ask for the funding for a new community center or paving for a road from the Navajo Nation.