About the only thing the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs is saying about the Cayuga Indian Nation's application to have land holdings placed in trust is that it has nothing to say.

And it won't for quite some time.

The BIA's review process is quite lengthy, and the Cayugas' application involves multiple parcels of land that it wants off limits to local taxes and regulations.

As a result, the BIA says public comment won't be sought for a while, although the agency cannot define how long that may be.

What its regulations do clearly define, however, is how long public comment periods last. There will be a 30-day comment period for local governments, followed by a 30-day comment period for the public.

That amount of time to gather direct testimony from the people most affected by this decision is disturbingly short, especially in light of such a thorough review in all other aspects.

The agency also has no plans for a public hearing on the application, either in our area or in

Washington, D.C.

Some elected leaders have started getting their message out there. Both the county Legislature and state Senate have passed a resolution asking the application to be rejected. And a few politicians, such as state Sen. Michael Nozzolio and county legislators George Fearon and Dave Pappert, have expressed their opinions.

But we urge the BIA to take the public's direct input seriously.

The agency surely has complex legal issues to research and resolve about this application, but such a decision should never be made in a vacuum. The BIA needs to gather as much feedback as possible from land-owners in the land claim area, and that should include direct contact in the form of a hearing.

The state Senate and Assembly held public hearings earlier this year on the now-scrapped land claim settlement proposals offered by Gov. George Pataki. Those hearings gave decision-makers - many who have never been to Cayuga County - valuable insight.

The BIA ought to do the same.