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Navajo president approves drought declaration

(Jon Austria | The Daily Times | The Associated Press) In this July 20, 2015 file photo, Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye talks with community members during a public meeting in Shiprock, N.M. The top two leaders on the Navajo Nation say recent suicides in communities affected by a mine spill have shaken reservation towns to their core.

Window Rock, Ariz. • Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye has signed a drought declaration issued by tribal emergency management officials.

The declaration signed Friday will clear the way for tribal offices to work together with county, state and federal agencies to get assistance as conditions worsen.

Begaye says the tribe wants to be prepared when water supplies start to diminish. Officials are concerned about wells, windmills and earthen dams across the reservation, which spans parts of New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.

Officials say large-scale drought trends are predicted throughout the Four Corners region through the end of May.

The latest federal map shows severe to extreme drought conditions already affecting the area. Conditions are much drier than a year ago.