Lols Pinos, Rosa and Los Arboles

" Today, few visitors gazing upon the beautiful, blue waters of Navajo Lake know that four communities were obliterated and according to Frances Swadesh nearly 200 families were displaced to build the dam. The confluence of the Piedra, San Juan and Los Pinos Rivers is no more. In 1958, construction of Navajo Dam began, and by 20 April 1963, when it opened, reservoir waters would eventually "create a relatively deep but narrow reservoir extending 35 miles up the San Juan river, 13 miles up the Pine river and 4 miles up the Piedra River, 13 miles up the Pine river and 4 miles up the Piedra River," project engineers predicted, "having a surface area of 15,600 acres." The work was authorized by the 84th Congress Act of 11 April 1956, Public Law 485, called the Colorado River Storage Project. Los Pinos, Rosa and Los Arboles would be inundated when the dame was completed and the waters backed up. Los Martinez was razed for fill dirt and rock for the earthen dam as well as to build construction site offices and the large trailer park that housed workers and their families for five years. "Today, few visitors gazing upon the beautiful, blue waters of Navajo Lake know that four communities were obliterated and according to Frances Swadesh nearly 200 families were displaced to build the dam. In 1957, bureau of Reclamation agents began knocking on doors in Los Martinez and Los Pinos. They had a one-year eviction notice. Those further upstream in rosa and Los Arboles had more time. Raymond Gallegos shared, "The simplicity of our lives changed in 1958 when we received news that Navajo Dam was to be built. rosa and my town of Los Arboles would be drowned when the reservoir was completed. Government appraisers came around and made offers to the people. there was no choice--accept or be driven out by the power of eminent domain. I was 12 years old at the time. The families were scattered to the four winds. Many left the area entirely, others like ours moved to places close by like Ignacio."