March 21, 2008
By RAELYNN RICARTE
News staff writer

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs turned their eyes toward Hood River County as the site for a new casino in 1998.

They were looking for a new revenue source to overcome the downturn in profits from their timber and hydroelectric industries. With cuts looming in social, education and health care programs, the tribes were determined to relocate their gaming operations from Kah-Nee-Tah High Desert Resort and Casino. The tribes currently net about $1 million in revenue each year from that facility, according to spokesperson Greg Leo.

That gaming center is located in Central Oregon on the 644,000 acre reservation. The desert lands are home to nearly 4,000 American Indians from the Warm Springs, Wasco and Paiute tribes.

Tribal leaders decided in 1998 to move their casino to the Gorge, which was part of the territory the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs had ceded to the federal government under the Treaty of 1855. Although the tribes had relinquished 10 million acres, which included the Gorge, they had reserved the right to fish, hunt and gather roots and berries in the ceded areas.

“We are making this decision for our well-being and survival, that’s the bottom line,” said Rudy Clements, the late casino liaison for the tribes.

The Warm Springs’ plan to site their casino on 40 acres of trust land just east of Hood River met with stiff opposition from No Casino, an opposition group. The forested property had sovereign status and was exempt from “outside” regulation. But it was located within the federally-protected Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.

No Casino mobilized to stop the casino from being built on the steep slope above the Historic Columbia River Highway. A mail-in survey returned by almost 6,500 county residents in late 1998 yielded a resounding 73.25 percent “no” vote toward that project.

Dave Russell, head of No Casino, said the trust land might be exempt from land-use restrictions by federal law, but there were other battlefields. He said the property was subject to review under the National Environmental Policy Act and tribal leaders had to receive permission from the Oregon Department of Transportation for Highway 35 improvements to accommodate traffic increases. In addition, Russell said access to the trust site lies on non-tribal land within the NSA that would be subject to county and Gorge Commission review.

The City of Hood River argued that the trust land did not meet the definition of “Indian Land” under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. Officials said the property didn’t qualify for an exemption from regulation because it was isolated from the existing reservation and the tribe had never exercised government power over it.

Joe Moses, an elected member of the Warm Springs tribal council, issued a strong statement about the “seriousness” of any threat to the protected rights of one of Oregon’s two treaty tribes.

“This is a matter of Native American sovereignty, we have a legitimate and lawful right to use our tribal land and we are going to defend it,” he said.

Dennis Karnopp, tribal attorney, said the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that any ambiguity in treaty rights favored the tribes. He said deference was given to the fact that American Indians did not speak English when the treaties were drafted so would have been unable to challenge language in the final documents.

In 1999, the Warm Springs became interested in developing Government Rock, a former 32-acre mining quarry owned by the Port of Cascade Locks. Former Gov. John Kitzhaber rejected their proposal to build a resort on the property that was located in an urban area and exempt from NSA regulations.

The tribe needed permission from the governor to move the project forward because Government Rock was newly acquired land. Under IGRA, only parcels purchased before 1988 had sovereign status and were eligible for casino development.

Exceptions to the federal law were allowed if a governor in any state determined that:

• An alternate location would better meet the tribes’ economic needs.

• The project would not be detrimental to the host community.

Cascade Locks’ officials welcomed the economic revitalization that would be brought by a casino. In 2001, city and port officials entered into serious discussions with tribal leaders that led to a “Two Communities One Vision” motto.

Meanwhile, the tribes purchased Government Rock and 175 acres of land next to the trust parcel near Hood River. They applied to the federal government to have all of these properties given trust status.

The City of Hood River immediately issued a letter of protest to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The elected body asserted that a gambling operation adjacent to the city limits would destroy the character and economic development path set by the community.

“A casino is enormously in conflict with the lot we cast for ourselves. People come here for windsurfing and other natural activities and that will be trashed by an operation which is not even subject to regulatory supervision,” said former Councilor Chuck Haynie in 2001.

That same year No Casino hired the legal services of Perkins Coie, a Washington, D.C. law firm that helps unwilling communities fight against gaming facilities. The local opposition group vowed to preserve the tribes’ NSA properties from development.

Attorney Guy Martin urged local governments to unite in their stance against the Hood River project. He said officials needed to organize immediately to mount a successful campaign against the Warm Springs’ plans for Hood River.

“I recommend that whatever you do, you don’t wait for the tribes to act and then be forced to react,” he said.

The city asked the county to take the lead in organizing a political and legal battle since it had jurisdiction over the properties around the Warm Springs’ parcel.

“We are working to do whatever we can to resolve this, to discourage the casino on the east side of Hood River,” said former County Commissioner Carol York.

She and other county officials joined Cascade Locks in lobbying unsuccessfully for Kitzhaber to reverse his decision on the use of Government Rock.

Hood River leaders questioned whether the county was wavering in its 1998 resolution against a casino within its borders because of the negative impacts on society. In return, county officials expressed doubt that the mail survey by No Casino would yield the same results given the 2000 closure of Hanel Lumber Company and the shutdown of two Gorge aluminum plants.

“Some of the public think we’re not doing anything, there is a lot of apathy out there like this is a done deal and I think the citizens need to know that it is not done and their county is going to do whatever it takes,” said Council Linda Rouches (Streich), who would later be elected as mayor.

About that time, the Warm Springs started geo-technical studies on the site near Hood River. They came up with conceptual drawings of a wooden structure on the 40 acres that had a full northern face of glass and an 11,600 square foot deck.

The building was set into a terraced slope that screened between six to eight lower floors of parking, each about 70,800 square feet. In that design, the casino was about 50,000 square feet and an additional 63,400 square feet had been reserved for a fine dining restaurant and other amenities.

“We will do what the law allows, which is to build at Hood River,” said Raymond Tsumpti, tribal councilman at that time.

The City of Hood River reluctantly agreed that, if there was going to be a tribal gambling casino in the Gorge, it should be built in Cascade Locks. However, the resolution to remain neutral in support of that town’s ambition did not weaken the strong stand of the Hood River council to “thwart” nearby development of the NSA lands.

“That being said, the council also recognized that legal arguments can fail to persuade, and that the cost of litigation and appeals can be overwhelming for a small community. Further, it did not wish to appear to oppose the legitimate desires of the city of Cascade Locks to address its own employment and economic development issues,” said the city’s Oct. 10, 2001, letter to the county commission outlining that stand.

Hood River officials then mailed out a 69-page comment letter with 47 attached exhibits to the BIA explaining the “devastating effects” of placing a casino on the steep slope above Hood River.

In 2001, Friends of the Gorge, a Portland-based conservation group, mentioned to the Warm Springs tribal confederation that the industrial park within the urban center of Cascade Locks would be a more suitable location for development than either Government Rock or the Hood River site. Friends had registered objections to a casino being built in either of the alternative locations.

The 120-acre industrial park in Cascade Locks was already zoned to allow a strip-mall or other sizeable development. The 60 acres that interested the tribes was comprised of fill material from the construction of the second powerhouse at Bonneville Dam.

Kitzhaber refused to weigh in on the tentative proposal to build the casino within the urban center of Cascade Locks that would be exempt from NSA regulations.

By June of 2002, the tribes had voted by a 3-1 margin in favor of building a casino in the Gorge. The city of Cascade Locks and the Warm Springs tribal confederation had reached a Memorandum of Agreement about the provision of services and the tribes’ monetary investment into the community.

On April 6 of 2005, Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a compact with Tribal Chairman Ron Suppah at a Cascade Locks ceremony.

“This represents the best of Oregon, it represents the best of this community — we are all Oregon, we are all one people,” said the governor.

The former attorney general and state Supreme Court justice believed that the tribes “had a very strong argument” for use of their Hood River property.

“He was satisfied that the tribes would try to pursue a casino on the Hood River site and, ultimately, it would be litigated in federal court at great cost to all parties,” re-affirmed Anna Richter Taylor, communications director, on Thursday.

Kulongoski said the unanimous support of elected leaders throughout the county for a casino in the “willing community” of Cascade Locks also merited consideration.

In exchange for his approval, the tribes agreed to permanently preserve their 215 acres within the NSA as resource lands. They also pledged to turn over about $17 million of their profits from the Cascade Locks casino to the state each year for conservation, education and economic development projects.

“Gov. Kulongoski has made a significant choice, a choice that protects Hood River lands and supports the smart land use planning envisioned in the NSA,” said York.

The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde joined Friends in the opposition movement against a Gorge casino following the signing of the compact. No Casino became No Gorge Casino and the Coalition for Oregon’s Future, funded largely by the Grand Ronde, emerged as an umbrella group for dissenting citizens around the state.

In 2006, the Grand Ronde paid for engineering and land-use report that concluded it was not possible for the Warm Springs to build on the Hood River site.

“The threat of a casino near Hood River is an empty threat and cannot be used to justify a casino resort in Cascade Locks. This report proves that a Hood River casino is impossible from an environmental, engineering, political and legal standpoint,” said Michael Lang, conservation director for Friends.

The Warm Springs “ridiculed” the Grand Ronde’s conclusion. Tribal leaders said the “pay to play science” was “flawed and deceitful.” They said the purpose of the report was to create a “piece of propaganda” that fueled opposition to the Cascade Locks plan.

“We have no doubt that, at the end of the day, we will end up being able to build a casino on our Hood River land. But that would not be our first choice,” said Len Bergstein, tribal spokesperson.

The compact signed by Kulongoski and Suppah was submitted in 2005 to the Department of the Interior, which oversees the BIA. Since then it has undergone several review processes, the latest of which is the compilation of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

That document analyzes the overall effect of placing the 600,000 square foot casino/resort in Cascade Locks. The footprint is about 250,000 square feet, with 90,000 square feet reserved for gaming and the remainder of the facility for a hotel, restaurants, retail outlets and other uses.

The DEIS also looks at the merits of a Hood River site, as well as a location along Highway 26 on reservation land. The document is available for review at local libraries in Hood River, Cascade Locks and Mosier. The draft analysis can also be accessed at www.gorgecasinoeis.com and public comments on the BIA’s conclusion that Cascade Locks is the preferable site for a casino can be submitted to the agency until May 15.

A final EIS will be crafted from these comments and presented once again to the public. The Interior is then expected to make a final decision on the Warm Springs’ proposal in early 2009.