Clashes between non-Indigenous environmentalists and local tribes surrounding the ruins at Mesa Verde began even before the park's official establishment. Conflicts over who laid claim to the land surrounding the ruins came to fruition in 1911, when the US government wanted to secure more land for the park that was owned by the Ute Indians. The Utes were reluctant to agree to the land swap proposed by the government, noting that the land they were seeking was the best land the tribe owned. Frederick Abbott, working with Indian Office official James McLaughlin, proclaimed to be an ally to the Ute in negotiations. Abbott later claimed that the government was stronger than the Utes, saying that when the government finds old ruins on land that it wants to take for public purposes, it has the right to take it ... Feeling they were left with no other options, the Utes reluctantly agreed to trade the 10,000 acres on Chapin Mesa for 19,500 acres on Ute Mountain.