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Stacy D. Stumbo The Roseburg News-Review May 1, 2003
CANYONVILLE — Twenty years ago, Bureau of Indian Affairs Regional Chief Stanley Speaks tried to block development of a bingo parlor proposed by the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.Today there are no hard feelings.
When Speaks toured the Seven Feathers Hotel & Casino Resort last week, it was like having a foreign dignitary in town, said Michael Rondeau, government operations officer for the tribe.
Speaks oversees all the tribes in Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana.
“He saw that we are a success,” said Sue Shaffer, tribal chairwoman. “He saw that we made it what we always thought it would be.”
Speaks was in Canyonville to hear the tribe’s plans for a $20 million development consisting of a 190-space RV park, roads and a wastewater treatment plant. Future plans include hotel expansion, an Interstate 5 rest area, visitors center, and possibly a golf course or theme park.
Rondeau said the tribe doesn’t have $20 million on hand, but will finance the development.
Wayne Shammel, the tribe’s attorney, said the development will take place on 250 acres located on the southbound side of I-5 by the 7 Feathers Truck & Travel Center near Jordan Creek.
The property has already been placed in trust, he said.
Canyonville Mayor Chuck Spindel said the city council supported the tribe’s plan because the development is expected to boost tourism to the region.
“The revenue we’ll be losing (from the tax rolls because of the Cow Creeks sovereign status) — we’ll feel it, but it’s not really going to hurt us,” he said. “The only thing it can really do is help us.”
Shammel said the tribe spent a year conducting a feasibility analysis on the project. Tribal members and representatives met with the governor, Sen. Ron Wyden and others to ascertain if the development could be accomplished without negative impacts to the environment.
“The advice Sen. Wyden gave us was to look at all the negative aspects and answer all the questions before getting into it,” Rondeau said.
Shammel said after consulting neighbors, he heard few objections to the plan.
“The only real issues are about growth in general,” he said. “We’re trying to be as sensitive as possible to that.”
The tribe is in negotiations with the Oregon Department of Transportation to construct a new rest area at I-5 Exit 99, near the casino. Shammel said ODOT approached the tribe after announcing it would close two I-5 rest areas — one near Azalea and another just north of Myrtle Creek.
The Cow Creek would pay for the property and construction of the rest area and concession stands. Maintaining the facility will cost the tribe between $8 million and $10 million over the next 20 years.
“This is our gift to the state,” Shammel said, adding that the benefit to the tribe and the casino is obvious because of increased exposure and traffic.
Shammel said completion of the first phase of the project is expected within three years. He told the Canyonville City Council the tribe’s plans last week, and asked if the city would be interested in sharing a wastewater treatment facility.
The city agreed, Shammel said, because the new system would resolve some of Canyonville’s wastewater problems. The city’s effluent is unable to discharge into the South Umpqua in the summer because of low water levels, he added, something that has been “kind of a hamstring” for development.
The new treatment facility will probably include three ponds — two filled with fresh water and a third to store treated effluent from tribal properties and the city — and a sewage lagoon.
Rondeau said although the casino’s existing water treatment facility is environmentally friendly and functional, it’s not adequate for long-term growth.
Spindel said that although a previous city council a decade ago rejected an offer from the tribe to unite in constructing a sewage treatment system, the current council wants to cooperate. Spindel, who was not on the council in the early ’90s, said he believes the problems stemmed from personality clashes between councilors and tribal members.
“By them developing their own system, this means our system will last a lot longer,” he said. “It’s a two-way street. It helps us and it helps them.”
Shammel said the tribe consulted with U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers to get their take on environmental impacts the development could cause.
“They haven’t formally endorsed it,” he said, “but they haven’t found any negatives or downsides.”
Craig Tuss, field supervisor for USFW, toured the site a couple of weeks ago. He said the tribe was interested in obtaining technical aid and information on the environmental review processes they will go through before development can begin.
Shammel said the organizations support the restoration of Jordan Creek that will follow development of the wastewater treatment facility.
“Jordan Creek had really been abused for decades,” he said. The tribe intends to stock fish in the creek once restoration is complete.
Tuss said, “A number of things are still in the talking stage and there is no particular proposal at this time … . It’s still not clear what some of the review and permitting issues might be. They’re just getting their ducks in a row at this stage.”
The RV park will offer a clubhouse and reception area, and be located near a botanical garden located adjacent to the truck and travel center and the rest area.
Shaffer said the development is fulfillment of the tribe’s mission to “invest very heavily in the community and create new jobs.”