Work on the billion First Light Resort & Casino site owned by the Wampanoag Tribe resumed temporarily last week as the tribe began doing erosion control on the 170 acres in reaction to storm damages over the last few months.
General construction ceased in July when a federal district judge ruled that the Bureau of Indian Affairs erred in the way that it put land for the tribe into trust. The Department of the Interior has appealed that ruling while at the same time looking at other ways to keep that land as sovereign tribal land.
The erosion control work, which will include trench and well-digging and re-grading, will continue for about a month.
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell said in a statement: “This work underscores our commitment to preserve and protect the value of our land and our investment in sustainable development. It is in our cultural DNA to be environmental stewards of the land that has sustained our people for generations.”
