"Five public hearings are scheduled early next month to address one of the most serious threats to the treasured Columbia River Gorge: a huge off-reservation tribal casino proposed for Cascade Locks, Ore. We believe increased public participation in a controversial proposal is always a good idea. The Columbian has opposed a gorge casino, and in this case we’re confident that the more people learn about the proposal, the worse it will look.

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs wants to build a 600,000-square-foot casino, 250-room hotel and conference facility and a 3,700-space parking lot on 25 acres in Cascade Locks. Last week the Bureau of Indian Affairs released a draft environmental impact statement that both casino proponents and opponents insist strengthens their respective arguments.

All the more reason for the public hearings.

One view that should be presented at the first hearing is a comment made a relatively long time ago (in the overall scheme of this controversy), in September 2006, by U.S. Rep. David Wu, D-Ore.: “The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is our Yosemite, our Grand Canyon. It is wrong to build a 600,000-square-foot casino drawing 3 million people and 1 million additional cars each year for non-gorge purposes into the gorge.”"

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Editorial: Gorge Threatened: Focus tightens on Cascade Locks casino (The Columbian 2/19)