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In a decision that could have far-reaching implications for Oregon’s delicately balanced gambling market, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs notified Oregon officials Nov. 20 that it would issue a final environmental impact statement supporting an off-reservation casino that the Coquille Indian Tribe wants to build in Medford.
After publishing its decision in the Federal Register, the bureau will open a 30-day public comment period. After that, the agency will produce a final document, a record of decision, or ROD, which typically—but not always—affirms the EIS.
Updated Nov. 21: Here is the communication from the BIA notifying the public of its intention to publish the EIS and providing the opportunity for public comment.
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley‘s office told WW on Wednesday evening it had received notification from the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the agency’s decision to issue the EIS.
Merkley, Sen. Ron Wyden and Gov. Tina Kotek have all embraced the same position that Oregon leaders have taken for years—they’d prefer the status quo.
“I am disappointed by the Biden administration’s decision to move the Coquille Indian Tribe’s Medford casino application forward,” Merkley tells WW. “Sen. Wyden and I have opposed the application for years out of deep concern for the new and likely damaging gaming precedent it would set in the state. I also remain concerned about the opposition voiced about this application by several of Oregon’s federally recognized tribes. During the coming 30-day comment period, I encourage everyone to share their views.”
On Thursday morning, Wyden joined Merkley in panning the BIA decision.
“This appears to set Oregon up on a path where decision makers 3,000 miles away spawn a gambling arms race, changing our state forever and thoughtlessly tossing out the long-standing agreement come to in Oregon by Oregonians that all tribes should share an equal opportunity at success rather than an endless effort of oneupmanship,” Wyden said. “This recklessly risky route would lead to real harm, and I encourage everybody to weigh in during this comment period so Oregon and Tribes can maintain the historic and balanced approach that’s fair for all.”
The context for the BIA decision is a complicated and contentious gambling market in Oregon. Eight of the state’s nine federally recognized tribes offer casino gambling. Although two tribes operate two casinos, Kotek and her predecessors have tried to observe a one-tribe, one-casino policy, with the casinos located on reservations.
Some tribes, including the Confederated Tribe of Siletz Indians, which hopes to open a second casino in Salem, do not agree with that policy, noting that it is not a law and they never agreed to it. Conflict arises because some tribes’ reservations are located closer to population centers than others, which yields more traffic and more gambling revenue. That has generated pressure to develop off-reservation casinos closer to population centers, such as the Medford proposal.
The federally recognized tribes are sovereign nations and exist in a sometimes uneasy relationship with the state of Oregon, which itself is highly dependent on the Oregon Lottery. That puts the state in both a quasi-regulatory position—it has authority in some cases (but not in the case of the Medford project) to reject new casinos—while it is also a competitor with the tribes for gambling dollars.
Related: After Biden’s Team OKs a Minnesota Tribal Casino Application, Oregon Prepares for Upheaval
Since 2012, the Coquille Tribe has pursued the development of a second casino on property the tribe purchased in Medford, which is about 170 miles from its reservation in North Bend. The Coquille have an on-reservation casino, called The Mill, but have sought to generate more revenue with the Medford project.
Judy Farm, CEO of Tribal One, the economic development arm of the Coquille Tribe, says it rejects the state’s policy, noting that the Oregon Legislature’s Joint Committee on Gambling Regulation concluded in 2022 that it “could find no evidence that any one-tribe, one-casino policy by the federal government or state of Oregon has been formally adopted or exists in any written form.”
Farm also rejects the characterization of Medford as an “off-reservation casino.”
“Within the [1989] Coquille Restoration Act, Congress promulgated that any land taken into trust within the five counties would be reservation land,” Farm says. “This application is considered on-reservation due to adherence to this guidance.”
The loudest opponent of the Medford project, the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians, however, said it had been informed of the BIA decision. That tribe operates a casino in Canyonville, about 70 miles north of the Coquille site in Medford. The Cow Creek have adamantly fought the Medford proposal and expressed frustration at Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American to hold that position, for moving it forward.
“The Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians and more than 30 other tribes have been fighting for months to be heard by the Biden administration and Secretary Haaland about the devastating impacts mass off-reservation casino approvals will have on Indian Country, only to be dismissed and ignored,” said Cow Creek chairwoman Carla Keene. “We have requested—even pleaded—to be seen, heard and consulted with on the decisions being made by bureaucrats in D.C. that will devastate our tribal communities.” The tribe will continue its opposition.
Ray Doering, a Tribal One spokesman, told WW previously that the Cow Creek are overestimating the impact the Medford casino would have and have also ignored the benefits to the Coquille Tribe.
Doering says the Coquille are happy with the feds’ decision but disappointed with critics’ response.
“The Tribe looks forward to the official publication of the final environmental impact statement, which we expect on Friday,” Doering says. “In most cases, advance notice is provided to our politicians so they can take credit for government actions. Only in Oregon does this advance notice provide yet another opportunity for politicians to pile on.”
Doering notes that critics of the Medford project ignore that two Oregon tribes already operate small, second casinos. He also points out the Medford project would be a Class II casino, which means more limited offerings than larger Class III casinos.
“Class II gaming has been one of the greatest tools for Native American tribes to lift themselves up without interference from state governments and other governing elites,” Doering says. “With this project, the Coquille Tribe is using this same time-honored tool to achieve its own self-sufficiency and self-determination. That should be applauded and not vilified.”