BIG LAGOON RANCHERIA HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Big Lagoon, located approximately 30 miles north of Eureka along the picturesque coastline of Humboldt County, is the largest in a series of ancient freshwater lagoons found in the heart of the coastal redwood country.

Unique Natural Area
Big Lagoon has long been recognized as an important and environmentally sensitive natural habitat area. The lagoon, separated from the Pacific Ocean by a narrow sand spit, is a natural habitat for many special-status plant and animal species, including Coho salmon, steelhead rainbow trout, bald eagles, peregrine falcons, western pond turtles, and Wolf’s evening primrose.

The estuarine shoreline, bogs, marshes and hills surrounding the lagoon are home to extensive wildlife, including black bears, Roosevelt elk, and countless shorebirds and migratory birds. Several types of trees, including Sitka spruce, coast redwoods, and alder, grow along the shores of the lagoon.

The lagoon is home to a number of species listed under the State and/or federal Endangered Species Act including, among others, the Central California Coastal Coho Salmon, the Northern California Steelhead Rainbow Trout, and the Tidewater Goby.

The heavily wooded Harry A. Merlo State Recreation Area (a 1000-acre unit of the California State Park system), Humboldt Lagoons State Park, and Big Lagoon County Park surround the lagoon. The lagoon itself is a State Wildlife Area managed by the California Department of Fish & Game. The waterway is also a popular destination for fisherman, kayakers, campers and hikers.

Tribal Homeland
The Big Lagoon Rancheria is a federally recognized Indian Tribe established in 1918. Big Lagoon abuts the tribal reservation. The 20-acre Rancheria includes eight homes, a newly upgraded community water facility, and an improved roads system.
Since the early 1990s, the Big Lagoon Rancheria has been examining the potential for establishing a gaming facility on its ancestral lands, as is the Tribe’s right under federal law. Due to a number of issues outside the control of the Tribe, including statewide legal developments in the area of Indian gaming, the development of a casino stalled in the latter part of the decade.

Environmental Impact
The State of California, including the Departments of Fish & Game and Parks and Recreation as well as the California Coastal Commission, along with environmental organizations such as the Save-the-Redwoods-League, has expressed concern about the potential environmental impact of a casino facility located along Big Lagoon. Download the environmental impact document.

The State has concluded that “Big Lagoon is an extremely sensitive and important habitat that the State has a legitimate interest in protecting.” (Defendant State of California’s Memorandum of Points and Authorities, February 4, 2004, in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. State of California.)

The State asserted that a casino facility on tribal land “would potentially result in significant adverse impacts to off-Reservation lands and resources….” (Letter from Acting Senior Assistant Attorney General Sara J. Drake, May 11, 2000, re Big Lagoon Rancheria v. State of California.)

The State has also urged that “a casino on the Big Lagoon Rancheria would arguably have one of the most if not the most severe adverse environmental impact of any casino in the State.” (Letter from Deputy Attorney General Peter H. Kaufman, August 15, 2003, re Big Lagoon Rancheria v. State of California.)

The Executive Director of the Save-the-Redwoods League has declared, “[t]he prominence of the casino in the proposed location (at Big Lagoon) and the profound potential of significant impacts on the ecosystem of the Lagoon, would warrant very serious consideration by the League of all alternatives….” (Katherine Anderton, Executive Director, Save-the-Redwoods League, February 4, 2004, Exhibit 3 to Declaration of Peter H. Kaufman in Support of Defendant State’s Opposition to Further Motion for Summary Judgment, in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. State of California.)

Coastal Commission Staff believe “[t]he importance of the Big Lagoon habitats cannot be overemphasized.” (John Dixon, Staff Biologist and Ecologist for the California Coastal Commission, January 30, 2004, Exhibit 4 to Declaration of Peter H. Kaufman in Support of Defendant State’s Opposition to Further Motion for Summary Judgment, in Big Lagoon Rancheria v. State of California.)

Governor Schwarzenegger has hailed the agreement between the State of California and the Big Lagoon Rancheria to relocate its planned casino to Barstow: “These agreements are a creative solution for avoiding the construction of a casino on California’s coast and alongside a State ecological preserve, while respecting the tribes’ federal right to engage in gaming.” (Press Release from the Office of the Governor, September 9, 2005.)

Government
The Big Lagoon Rancheria was established on July 10, 1918 and is governed by a Tribal Council. The Tribal Government operates the following programs on behalf of its members: Higher Education, Social Services, Roads, Aid to Tribal Government, Community, Fire, and Indian Child Welfare.

The Tribal Government established the Two Feathers Native American Family Services, a social services corporation created for the development and delivery of various social services to Tribal members and other Native Americans living within Humboldt County.

Economy
The Tribe owns and operates the historic Hotel Arcata, located in the seaside town of Arcata just north of Eureka. The Tribe is also in the planning and development phases of building a state-of-the-art Health Fitness Center on Tribal fee property located in the nearby town of McKinleyville.

Future of Big Lagoon
In 2004, at the request of the State of California, the Big Lagoon Rancheria entered into discussions for an alternative off-reservation tribal casino site.

Those negotiations led to an agreement between the Big Lagoon Rancheria and the State of California, along with the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians, to develop a joint casino resort facility located in the City of Barstow (San Bernardino County). Governor Schwarzenegger signed compacts with both tribes on September 9, 2005. The Tribes are now seeking ratification from the State legislature and approval by the federal government.

Under the terms of the compact, Big Lagoon Rancheria gave up its right to commercially develop tribal land in Humboldt County, in exchange for the Barstow project going forward, assuming it receives the necessary approvals. The resulting agreement, when ratified by the State Legislature, will ensure the long-term protection of Big Lagoon and surrounding parks as a natural habitat area that can be enjoyed by current and future generations.

The Governor has agreed that the protection of the environment at the Big Lagoon is a clear and independent public policy interest that will be substantially served by the relocation of Big Lagoon’s project to Barstow.