County files appeal of Cowlitz trust decision
It paves way for tribe to build casino-hotel near La Center
An aerial view includes the proposed site of a Cowlitz casino in Clark County.
Originally published January 31, 2011 at 3:22 p.m., updated January 31, 2011 at 8:14 p.m.
Clark County took the lead Monday in a legal challenge to a federal decision allowing the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to establish a reservation near La Center and build a casino-hotel complex.
The appeal was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
The county argues that in granting the Cowlitz Tribe’s trust application, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Kenneth Salazar and Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk failed to take a “hard look” at the environmental consequences and ignored a 2009 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
The decision in Carcieri v. Salazar restricted the federal government’s ability to take land into trust for tribes not under federal jurisdiction prior to 1934.
The Cowlitz Tribe was federally recognized in 2000.
In his December ruling, Echo Hawk concluded the tribe was under federal jurisdiction from at least 1855 and that he didn’t have to determine whether the tribe was recognized in a “formal sense” prior to 1934’s Indian Reorganization Act.
While the county filed as lead plaintiff, it has company.
Joining the county to fight the federal government: the city of Vancouver; nearby property owners Al Alexanderson and Greg and Susan Gilbert; Dragonslayer Inc. and Michels Development, operators of the four La Center cardrooms; and Citizens Against Reservation Shopping, a group which includes Scott Campbell, publisher of The Columbian.
Both the county and city stressed they will be using staff attorneys rather than hiring outside counsel. The other plaintiffs are represented by attorneys from Perkins Coie LLP in Washington D.C.
Clark County Commissioner Steve Stuart said Monday that he has heard from people who think the county has taken an anti-gambling stance.
“People want to break it down to the philosophy of whether it’s right or not. That’s not how I evaluate it,” Stuart said. “As with any development proposal, the process requires adequate mitigation. At the county, we had 11 pages of potential impacts we wanted addressed. Most of those were ignored,” he said.
The appeal argues the current plans have inadequate mitigation for stormwater, traffic, light and noise issues.
Cowlitz Tribal Chairman William Iyall said Monday that the appeal did not come as a surprise, as county commissioners voted earlier this month to challenge the federal ruling. He also was not surprised to see the rest of the opposition.
“It’s pretty much as we have expected,” Iyall said.
During a conference call last week, executives from the Connecticut-based Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority, which has partnered with Cowlitz tribal member and real estate developer David Barnett of Seattle to operate the casino, hinted plans might be scaled back from the $510 million complex that was planned before the economy tanked.
Plans call for a two-story casino with 3,000 slot machines, 135 gaming tables, 20 poker tables and a 250-room hotel, not to mention an RV park, 10 restaurants and retail shops on 152 acres.
“There’s no need to build anything extravagant, at least not at first … it all depends on what market analysis says,” Iyall said.
In the appeal, the county asks for a preliminary injunction so the trust process will be stopped until the litigation is resolved.
The case is not expected to be heard until this summer, said Mary Keltz, spokeswoman for Clark County.
The appeal asks the court to set aside the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ decision and rule that the 152 acres, which are west of the Interstate 5 interchange in La Center, do not qualify as an initial reservation for the Cowlitz Tribe.
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