Officials in Medford, Oregon have sent a letter to the Bureau of Indian Affairs expressing their concern over the contractor the agency hired to conduct an environmental impact statement regarding the Coquille Indian Tribe’s proposed casino. Mayor Gary Wheeler said since the BIA is a client of Analytical Environmental Services, AES would not objectively analyze the Coquille’s application. “Indeed, AES has been alleged to have a ‘revolving door’ with BIA, where employees of BIA and AES have switched jobs and has a history of conflict-of-interest complaints,” Wheeler wrote.
The Coquille tribe wants the federal government to take into trust 2.42 acres it owns in order to build a casino with video gambling machines. The site, on Highway 99 in south Medford, currently is occupied by the Roxy Ann Lanes bowling alley and the former Kim’s restaurant. The tribe and supporters said the casino will bring jobs to Medford and stimulate the Rogue Valley economy. The Coquilles also have asked the federal Office of Indian Gaming Management for an exception to a gaming ban on lands acquired after October 1988. The tribe operates the Mill Casino and Hotel in North Bend.
Besides environmental impact questions, the city also asked the BIA to consider studies that casino gambling may be related to domestic violence, divorce, bankruptcy, drug and alcohol abuse, risky or illicit sexual behavior and problem gambling. “The increase in the number of pathological gamblers is another concerning issue regarding the development of casino gambling, and there are increasing concerns regarding child neglect and family problems associated with casinos,” the letter stated.
Coquille tribal spokesman Ray Doering said the tribe is not concerned about the letter sent by Medford. “That’s the whole point of this. That’s the idea of the EIS which is to raise these concerns and address them. Every business has an impact of some kind. “There are always pluses and minuses.” Doering said tribe would have a response after the impacts are indicated.
The Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe, which operates the Seven Feathers Casino Resort near Roseburg, opposes the Coquille’s proposed Medford casino, which it said would steal business, leading to layoffs and cuts in casino-revenue funded programs.
