The Bush administration is reviewing six off-reservation casino projects, the Associated Press reports.
One of them is for Confederated Tribes of Warm
Springs in Oregon. The tribe is seeking a casino in Cascade Locks, about 69 miles from the northwestern border of the reservation.
The tribe says the project will generate jobs and revenues and improve self-sufficiency. The on-reservation casino isn't doing so well and neither is Cascade Locks -- business are closing left and right.
"In the 1960s we had about 60 licensed businesses,"' the town's port manager told the AP. "We now have about 12, and half of them are for sale."
Opponents include environmental groups who are worried the casino will damage the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The Confederated Tribes of Grand
Ronde fear the casino will hurt their business.
Get the Story:Contentious casino (AP 3/18)
Ore. tribes fighting over whether Gorge casino should get green light (KGW 3/18)