The Southern Ute Indian Reservation contains seven rivers, several lakes and hundreds of small ponds. The Southern Ute Police Department is helping with the newly formed Southwest Regional Dive team that covers La Plata, Archuleta, Montezuma and San Juan Counties in Southwest Colorado. The Dive Team had the opportunity to train in August with the New Mexico State Police Dive Team on Navajo Lake. We learned search patterns, low visibility searches, high altitude diving techniques, underwater body bagging, lift bag recovery, entanglements, underwater communications, surface supplied air diving and boat operations. The Southern Ute Police Department wants to be prepared to meet the policing needs of the Tribe even underwater.
