Friends of the Columbia Gorge : Explore the Gorge

The Obama Administration is now working with the Department of Interior to review and possibly revise policies restricting off-reservation casinos. The policies require off-reservation casinos to be located within reasonable commuting distances from Tribes’ reservations and also requires compatibility with surrounding land uses. Specifically, casinos are unlikely to be approved in or near federally designated conservation areas, including national parks, wilderness areas or national scenic areas.

The compatibility policy should result in the denial of the Gorge casino proposal because it is proposed within a national scenic area, adjacent to a federally designated wilderness area, and is visible from the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail and two national historic trails: The Lewis and Clark Trail and the Ice Age Floods Trail.

We now have a pro-environment Administration in the White House that is committed to protecting our national treasures.

The Obama Administration should adopt a policy that outright prohibits casinos in nationally protected landscapes like the Gorge.

Please send the letter below asking the Department of Interior to protect special conservation areas like the Columbia River Gorge from off-reservation casino developments. Feel free to personalize the letter to include the reasons the Gorge is special to you.

September 09, 2010

Subject:

I am writing today to request that you protect America’s most treasured landscapes from the serious threat of off-reservation casino development. One such landscape is the Columbia River Gorge, a federally designated National Scenic Area that is now threatened by a casino resort proposal with 2,078,000 square feet of development, highway construction and an estimated 3-4 million visitors per year located within the heart of this majestic landscape. The Gorge is renowned for its stunning beauty, biological diversity and rare geologic features. The Gorge is also home to the Mark O. Hatfield Wilderness Area, Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, Lewis and Clark Historic Trail and Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail. All of these national assets are adjacent to this poorly-planned casino resort.. In order to protect these sensitive areas from the devastating impacts of a massive casino, we ask that you retain and strengthen the Interior Department policy issued on January 3, 2008 requiring the denial of off-reservation casinos that conflict with surrounding land uses. The current guideline state that “incompatible uses might consist of adjacent or contiguous land used or zoned for National Parks, National Monuments, Federally designated conservation areas, National Fish and Wildlife Refuges...” The Gorge should be taken off the table for potential casino development because of its status as a national scenic area and because it includes a federally designated wilderness area less than ½ mile from the proposed casino site. Additionally, the site is visible from a national scenic trail and two congressionally designated historic trails. Your decision to uphold and strengthen this policy is critical to the protection of our nation’s iconic landscapes. Thank you for considering this request and for protecting America’s special places for our children and future generations to experience.
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