Clear way for casino.

Byline: The Register-Guard

It's now been two years since the U.S. Department of Interior gave the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw permission to build a casino on site just east of Florence.

But the tribes have yet to break ground on the $26 million casino that the 720-member confederation hopes will generate much-needed revenues for economic and social development. The delay is the result of former Gov. John Kitzhaber's wrongheaded decision to file a lawsuit challenging U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton's authority to recognize the 98-acre Hatch Tract site as federally recognized tribal land and therefore suitable for gambling under the federal 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

U.S. Magistrate Thomas Coffin late last week ruled in favor of the tribes. In dismissing the state's claim, the judge said the federal law, while ambiguously worded, does not prohibit the secretary from making such decisions.

Coffin also rejected the state's argument that the law does not allow recognition of tribal lands that were not approved by Congress at the same time federal tribal status was restored.

Now, Gov. Ted Kulongoski must decide whether to appeal the court's decision. He should let this ruling stand - and clear the way for the tribes to build their casino and begin reaping the same economic benefits that have flowed for years to Oregon's eight other tribal groups.

The governor will no doubt be pressured by well-organized opponents of the casino. While they're scrambling for any and every possible means of stopping this project, it's obvious that their best hope - and it's not a very promising one - is that the state will take this case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

But the governor should remember that there is a fundamental difference between the interests of the state and those of casino opponents who object to the project for reasons ranging from gambling addiction and crime to traffic congestion and urban sprawl. By contrast, the state has opposed the casino on narrow legal grounds and, in fact, already has approved a compact with the tribes that allows gambling at the Florence site.

It's difficult, however, not to sympathize with concerns of casino opponents. From the outset of the tribes' efforts, this newspaper has had some uneasiness in recommending that this project move forward.

Oregon is already saturated with gambling, from the state lottery and video poker to the eight tribal casinos already scattered across the state. Construction of yet another casino raises valid concerns about the impacts of a casino on the small coastal community. But none of those concerns should outweigh the tribes' hard-won and clearly established legal rights - rights that were affirmed last week in Coffin's ruling.

Now, Kulongoski should abandon a lawsuit that has little or no chance of succeeding - and allow the tribes to realize their dream of a casino that hopefully will bring them economic development and self-sufficiency.