The Bureau of Indian Affairs issued a new Record of Decision (ROD) April 22 to allow the Cowlitz Indian Tribe to take nearly 152 acres of land near the La Center I-5 junction into trust for the purpose of building a mega casino.
The action rescinded the 2010 Record of Decision and issued a new decision in support of the Cowlitz Tribe. It also issues a reservation proclamation under the authority of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934.
“I am very pleased that the Department of the Interior met the federal court’s 60-day timeline and that our plans to acquire a homeland for the Tribe can move forward once again now that these procedural concerns are out of the way,” said Bill Iyall, chairman of the Cowlitz Tribe. “The Cowlitz Tribe has a long history in Southwest Washington, and while we expect that this new decision will be challenged once again by our opponents, we have a very strong case and I expect that the courts will affirm Secretary Washburn’s decision.
“This is a major step in our decades-long efforts to restore our homelands (and) establish tribal offices and create hundreds of jobs for the Clark County community,” Iyall said.
On March 13, a federal district court judge remanded the matter to the Department of the Interior with instructions to rescind the 2010 decision and ordered the Department to issue a new decision within 60 days.
The 2010 decision was appealed by the operators of the four La Center cardrooms, Clark County, the City of Vancouver, nearby property owners Al Alexanderson and Greg and Susan Gilbert, and the Citizens Against Reservation Shopping.
The new decision is also expected to be appealed. The parties have 30 days to do so.
“It comes as no surprise that the Bureau of Indian Affairs has reissued its decision, first issued in December 2010, to approve the Cowlitz casino proposal without fixing its many deficiencies,’’ said John Bockmier, a Vancouver-based consultant who represents the four La Center cardrooms. “As the record of the 2010 decision makes clear, BIA was determined to approve the Cowlitz proposal without regard to its legal flaws and negative impacts on Clark County.
“The fact that the BIA rescinded the previous decision and issued the new one on the same day – April 22 – confirms that no effort was made to address the problems that caused the court to rule against BIA and the Tribe in March,’’ Bockmier added. “Since that decision, we have submitted to BIA extensive additional evidence as to why BIA could not reissue the decision. That evidence obviously was ignored, and another round of litigation is certain to ensue.
“We have just received the record of decision and will review the document and take appropriate legal action to continue the fight against the Tribe’s harmful and illegal casino,’’ Bockmier said.
