Skip to main content
Gov. Tina Kotek and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have joined several Oregon and California tribes in asking the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to extend the public comment period on a proposed tribal casino in Medford.
As WW reported in November, the BIA issued a final environmental impact statement for a 2.4 acre site in Medford the Coquille Indian Tribe owns. Since 2012, the tribe has sought to develop a casino on the site, which is about 170 miles from the Coquille reservation and the tribe’s existing casino.
Related: Feds Signal Key Approval for the Coquille Tribe’s Proposed Medford Casino
Casino politics in Oregon are highly contentious. For nearly 40 years, governors have sought to strike a balance between the state’s nine federally recognized tribes, which are sovereign nations and each of which faces pressing economic needs. The state’s own heavy reliance on the Oregon Lottery, which competes with the tribal casinos, complicates matters. Governors, including Kotek, have pushed for a one-casino-per-tribe policy (although two tribes have two casinos) and have tried to restrict those casinos to the tribes’ reservations. Some tribes, including the Coquille, note that the one-tribe, one-casino policy is not in statute and they do not agree to it.
For the Coquille project in Medford, the BIA’s release of the final environmental impact statement triggered a 30-day public comment period. After that comment period closes—currently, Dec. 24—the BIA will consider the input and then issue its final word in a document called a record of decision.
In a Dec. 13 letter, Kotek asked the feds to extend the time for public comment.
“This decision carries significant implications for Oregon’s communities, economic landscape, and broader state interests. It is critical to ensure that all stakeholders—Tribal Nations, local governments, and residents alike—have sufficient time to thoughtfully consider the [final environmental impact statement] and provide meaningful feedback,” Kotek wrote on Dec. 13.
“An additional 30 days for public comment would allow for a more thorough examination of the potential effects on the state’s economic environment, local planning efforts, and intergovernmental relationships.”
A number of tribes from Oregon, including the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, the and California, including the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians and three tribes from Northern California, also sent letters to the BIA asking for government to government consultation and for more time to consider the 1,500-page document the feds released with their decision last month.
On Dec. 16, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office joined the chorus, asking the feds to slow down on two projects in his state and the Medford project, which is about 30 miles north of the Oregon border.
“We urge the department to reconsider its rush to judgment, and to take the time to listen to the tribal voices it has marginalized, before making any final decisions on these projects,” wrote Matthew Lee, Newsom’s senior advisor for tribal negotiations.
But a representative of the Coquille tribe says enough is enough. Judy Farm, the CEO of Tribal 1, the economic development arm of the Coquille tribe, notes that the feds highlighted “the unprecedented amount of consultation and comment period on this small project.”
Farm notes that two Oregon tribes, the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians, submitted letters in support of the Medford project.
“For 13 years and enduring three presidential administrations, our tribe patiently waited and worked diligently to follow the letter of the law while seeking to restore tribal land holdings and open a new class II gaming facility in Medford,” Farm says.
“Our tribe appreciates Secretary [of the Interior Deb] Haaland and the administration for taking this necessary step and not surrendering to outside political pressure from opponents who would prefer the Interior Department instead break with long-held precedents and violate congressional authority.”