According to the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, opponents of the construction of a Gorge casino are using “deception and gridlock” to achieve their goal. Len Bergstein, Tribal spokesperson, explained that they are trying to play fair and be transparent with Oregonians.

“We welcome a conversation on the merits of our project but Friends of the Columbia Gorge seems to be more interested in setting up litigation”, Berstein added. “The tribe is currently studying the financial returns of building a casino somewhere on the 640,000 acres of reservation land in Central Oregon.”

James E. Cason, Associate Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, ordered said analysis in July. As stated by Michael Land, Firend’s conservation Director, a report indicates that the tribe failed to fulfill the required environmental standards.