Settlement activity intensified after 1970, creating conflicts with purported landowner José Milton de Andrade Rios, who accused new arrivals of being squatters invading his land. The settler-occupied lands were situated between the Preto and Leitão streams, which he alleged were part of his property. The National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA) attempted to prevent settlement at the site because it was still unclear whether the land in fact belonged to Milton Rios or to the national government. With new settlers continuing to arrive, the village grew, and INCRA Rondônia created the Leitão sector as an extension of the Ouro Preto Integrated Colonization Project to regulate settlement activity.