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Cultures Clash Over California Casino

“But if developers have their way, an Indian casino will also find a home in bucolic Sonoma County, right in the heartland of America's wine-growing industry and less than an hour's drive from San Francisco.

“The controversy over the proposed casino pits the 580 members of an Indian tribe native to the region and their union backers against environmentalists and locals, who fear an invasion of outsiders whose tastes run more to beer nuts than Brie.

“…At the center of the controversy is some 200 acres of empty hay field at the intersection of two highways where the tribe wants to build its casino. It would be managed by Station Casinos Inc. (NYSE:STN), a Las Vegas company that recently opened a tribal casino with some 1,900 slot machines near Sacramento, the state capital.

“The proposed below-sea-level site is near public land slated to be turned into marshes and private property that environmentalists want to return to the marshland it once was.

“…The 580-member Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria says it plans to set aside 1,700 acres of its 2,000 acres of land for open space and wants to restore local wildlife habitat.

“Noting that fortunes have been made from wineries on what originally was Indian land, the tribe maintains that gambling revenues will lift its members out of poverty.

“…Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris, a university professor, says the tribe has made an effort to accommodate local interests even though federal approval is all it needs to proceed.

“…In a recent letter, the tribe urged Interior Secretary Gale Norton to intervene on its behalf and broker a deal with local governments…”

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