Struggling Oregon town pinning hopes on casino

Brad Cain

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002 | 9:28 a.m.

CASCADE LOCKS, Ore. -- Nestled near towering basalt cliffs, plunging water falls and hiking trails leading into the backcountry, this town perched within the Columbia River Gorge charms visitors who pass through.

The locals just wish there were more of them.

"This town is kind of dead," said Kelly Evans, a clerk at River City Hardware and Liquor Store, one of a handful of businesses in Cascade Locks, population 1,100.

She gestured toward the store's solitary customer.

"There's nothing here to bring people in," she said.

But that could change -- if the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs prevail in their bid to build a casino here.

"This town is dying now. We are in a death spiral," City Administrator Robert Willoughby said. "With a casino, people will move here, open businesses here and build homes here."

But there are others who say the casino would bring traffic jams, worsen air pollution and become a blight within a gorge whose beauty is known around the globe.

"The casino and resort would dominate the town," said Michael Lang of Friends of the Columbia Gorge, a group formed to protect the gorge's charms. "Many of our members are very concerned about the impacts of this on recreational uses in the gorge."

The Friends of the Columbia Gorge are not the only ones alarmed by the thought of having a casino in this scenic canyon.

The Grand Rhonde tribe, which operates the highly successful Spirit Mountain Casino west of Salem, worries about the new competition that would come if the Warm Springs tribes were allowed to build a casino just 40 minutes from Portland.

"It's like an arms race to see who can get closer to that Portland market," Justin Martin, a spokesman for Spirit Mountain, said. "If all of a sudden the rules are changed, we would look to get closer to the metropolitan area."

The decline of the timber industry and the closing of aluminum plants in the region have left a vacuum here that's not been filled by tourists who roam up and down the Columbia River Gorge to admire attractions like Multnomah Falls, locals say.

The possibility of the tribes building a $100 million casino and resort that eventually would employ 1,200 people and draw 3 million visitors a year has many in Cascade Locks dreaming of an economic rebirth.

For years the tribes have been blocked by Gov. John Kitzhaber. They are hoping Oregon's governor-elect, Ted Kulongoski, will give his blessing to an idea that could be a huge moneymaker for the tribes and an economic boost for Cascade Locks.

If Kulongoski refuses to give the Warms Springs tribes permission, the tribes say they are prepared to build a casino upstream in Hood River on tribal property that is already eligible for gambling under federal law.

The Hood River casino would require carving out a steep bluff to form a huge semicircle around a casino that would be clearly visible from the river, however.

Sponsors of the Cascade Locks casino say it wouldn't require tearing up any part of the gorge scenery, a point they hope Kulongoski will view in their favor.

The Cascade Locks casino would be located on a 110-acre site that's zoned for industrial use and is within the city's urban growth boundary.

The site is along the river, but developers say the casino would be set back far enough where it wouldn't be visible from the river or from Interstate 84.

"We're going to build something that's going to be more like Timberline Lodge than the casinos you see now," Warm Springs spokesman Greg Leo said. "It will be in keeping with the aesthetics of the gorge."

To avoid traffic gridlock in Cascade Locks itself, the proposal calls for construction of a new freeway interchange that would give direct access to the casino and resort.

Developers of the proposed casino say it would increase tourism in the western Columbia Gorge.

As they envision it, people would spend several days at a time at the resort, dividing their time between gambling and taking in shows at the casino and heading into nearby areas for recreational activities like hiking and sailing.