DOI's recent Cowlitz casino decision

Dear Concerned Citizen:

You have likely heard that the Department of the Interior (DOI) has decided to take 152 acres at the Interstate 5 La Center junction into trust for the Cowlitz Tribe's proposed casino project ("Feds clear way for Cowlitz casino," The Columbian, Dec. 24).

Make no mistake: This is still not a done deal.

Other jurisdictions have successfully overturned similar DOI decisions, and the Cowlitz application is ripe for litigation. CARS and other affected parties are reviewing our options, including legal action.

First, the Cowlitz decision runs counter to the U.S. Supreme Court's February 2009 finding in Carcieri v. Salazar. This ruling states that the Secretary of the Interior has no authority to take land in to trust on behalf of tribes acknowledged after 1934. The Cowlitz Tribe was acknowledged in 2002.

Legal challenges are possible in several other areas as well, including the tribe's heavily flawed Environmental Impact Statement, the federal government's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process, and the Tribe's questionable restored lands opinion issued by the National Indian Gaming Commission.

What is perhaps most disappointing in this whole situation is that a federal agency is working to determine the future land use and fate of a local community -- one that has repeatedly and resoundingly pleaded, "No casino here, please."

Please stay tuned and stay hopeful. We will keep you posted on this evolving situation.

Sincerely,

The CARS Team

Declared opposition to the proposed Cowlitz casino
Governmental resolutions of opposition:
Clark County
City of Vancouver
City of La Center
City of Woodland
Port of Woodland
Woodland School District

Expressions of opposition:
Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce
La Center North Clark County Chamber of Commerce
Woodland Chamber of Commerce
Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce
American Land Rights Association
Identity Clark County
Friends of Clark County
Enterprise/Paradise Point Neighborhood Association
Fish First
Chinook Indian Tribe
Stand Up for Clark County Citizens
Citizens Against Reservation Shopping