Feds Approve Land into Trust for Habematolel Pomo – County Also Approves

The source of the information below came from an article written by Elizabeth Larson of the Lake County News and has been re-printed here with permission.

Link: http://lakeconews.com/content/view/5106/764

The Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake have received approval from the federal government to place land in trust to build a $35 million casino and Lake County is all for it.

Upper Lake is just North of Clear Lake which is East of Ukiah in Northern California.

The US Department of the Interior's Office of the Secretary has issued a “finding of no significant impact” – or FONSI – (the same thing they issued for the Chumash on the 6.9 acres they are looking to be put into trust) on the tribe's proposal to place an 11.24-acre site on Highway 20 in trust, said the tribe's attorney, Robert Rosette.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs approved the finding based, it said, on analysis and recommended mitigation measures in a May 2007 draft environmental assessment, as well as comments from the public, responses to those comments, the tribe's request for a reduction in acreage and the development of a final environmental assessment.

Rosette said the FONSI is an important legal entitlement that will allow the 200-member tribe to proceed with building a casino on its land next to the Upper Lake County Park.

“It's a significant victory in the grand scope of their project,” he said. “Emotionally, as well, it means an awful lot to this tribe to reestablish their land base.”

The last thing the tribe must do before it can break ground on the casino is to get an approved tribal gaming compact with the state, said Rosette. “That's certainly a priority now.”

Negotiating with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for that compact hinged on the FONSI, since Schwarzenegger has had a policy of not negotiating with tribes unless their land already was in trust, said Rosette. The federal government must then approve the compact.

Rosette said there's an outside chance the tribe – which already has had preliminary meetings with representatives from the governor's office – might be able to have a compact ready to be approved by the state Legislature before it adjourns for its fall break in mid-September.

The relationship that the Habematolel Pomo and Lake County have should, in my opinion, serve as an example to others including our county and the Chumash.

On July 11, 2006, the county and the tribe entered into a detailed memorandum of understanding which County Chief Administrative Officer Kelly Cox said covers everything from law enforcement and traffic control, to adhering to state building code requirements, air quality issues, fire and emergency services, the tribe's willingness to support agri-tourism and address the impacts of problem gaming.

In addition, and this really impressed me, the tribe agreed to pay revenue in lieu of property tax as though the land were privately owned, and will pay taxes and fees like any regular developer. Cox said he thinks that, from the county government's standpoint, the result will be a plus on the revenue side.

“We had excellent negotiations with them,” Cox said. “They wanted to do the right thing, from day one.”

Cox also praised the tribe for the way it reached out to the county to create a positive working relationship.

The county also wanted to do the right thing and not take unfair advantage of the situation, said Cox, which meant not taking the path of some other local governments that have tried to extract millions from tribes. Rather, the county simply asked the tribe for agreements and fees that would be expected of any developer.

“I think we came up with a good agreement,” he said. “Neither one of us were trying to harm each other.”

The tribe has already proved true to its word; Cox said the Habematolel have contributed $378,000 to the Lake County Sanitation District for improvements to the sewer system that the casino will necessitate.

The tribe also offered its support of the Middle Creek Restoration Project, despite the fact that it will put a large portion of the 60 acres the tribe owns under water, said Cox.

Originally, the tribe had intended to put all 60 acres in trust, but Tribal Chair Sherry Bridges said in a written statement that, based on local government's concerns and those of area residents, the tribe and its executive council made “a great sacrifice” and scaled back the amount to the 11.24 acres.

Cox said a separate agreement, reached between the tribe and the county in June of 2007, covers that reduction in acres for the restoration project.

“There's a strong level of trust and credibility that's been established by this tribe with local government, as well as state and federal,” said Rosette.

He said the tribe has chosen to exercise its sovereignty in a new way, by reaching out to the various levels of government and the community. “There are several projects around the state that are following the same processes that Upper Lake is, they're just not moving with the same efficiency as Upper Lake is.”

That's because some tribes try to circumvent parts of the process and it ends up in delays, said Rosette, an expert in Indian gaming law who has represented other tribes in casino projects, including previously working for the Elem Colony on their recent casino efforts.

He said the Habematolel Pomo are aiming to set up a strong, mutually beneficial relationship that will work out for everybody.

Rosette added that the Habematolel “hope to be an example to other tribes.”

It’s been a long road for the tribe to reach this point and those who claim that these deals go down very quickly behind the public’s back are full of hot air.

Rosette said the FONSI finding is a final milestone for the tribe, which received its Restored Lands Determination last November in order to reestablish its reservation.

The Habematolel's lands in Lake County were lost in the 1950s under the federal “termination” policy, said Rosette.

A report from California Indian Legal Services said 38 California tribes lost their lands and federal recognition due to termination, with many of the tribes now seeking to have their status restored some through litigation.

The Habematolel were among those tribes that took their battle to court, winning a lawsuit against the United States in US District Court in 1983, with the court finding the tribe's termination was unlawful, Rosette said.

Yet, while they won in court, it didn't mean they received their land back. So Rosette said the tribe has worked since then to acquire new land suitable for tribal government purposes.

It also took the Habematolel 20 years to receive Bureau of Indian Affairs approval on a tribal constitution, said Rosette, which wasn't complete until 2004.

The constitution was another in a series of necessary steps, as it made the tribe's government legitimate in the eyes of the federal government, said Rosette.

Once the constitution was accepted, said Rosette, the tribe moved quickly to reestablish their land base, working on their deed of trust application in late 2005. That resulted in this latest approval to place their acreage in trust as “Indian Lands.”