Sen. Charles Schumer wants the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs to visit Seneca and Cayuga counties prior to making a decision about whether to accept the Cayuga Indian Nation's land-into-trust application.

On Monday, Schumer announced he would hold a meeting on behalf of Cayuga and Seneca County officials to discuss the Cayuga Nation's 2005 land-trust application. He also said he would urge BIA Assistant Secretary James Cason to tour the land in question. A tour of the area would allow Cason to "gain a better understanding of the potentially negative effects on the two counties," Schumer said through a staff press release.

"The land-into-trust process is confusing and complicated, and the decisions the BIA makes within this process are profound and permanent," Schumer said. "That is why the BIA must meet regularly with public officials from the affected counties and tour the region first-hand."

The Cayugas have just under 30 acres spread among five parcels in Seneca County and a little over 111 acres on four parcels in Cayuga County. Land included in the tribe's application comprises 125 acres in the two counties.

Read the full report in Tuesday's edition of The Citizen.