Proponents would be grasping at straws to believe they received major support from the meeting Thursday night in that community that was attended by an estimated 150 people.

It was evident that various interests are as far apart as the rugged Columbia River Gorge itself. Conflicts are transparent. More than a few fear the damage this casino would cause.

Justified environmental concerns included polluted air and jammed highways, brought by an estimated 3 million casino visitors annually.

Reminders of the visual blight a casino would cause in the scenic gorge also resurfaced. Conservationists believe the environment of Cascade Locks and vicinity is too fragile for so many people driving so many vehicles.

The Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed a support agreement last April aimed at locating the gambling complex in the town of 1,100 residents. If the bid for a proposed off-reservation site fails at Cascade Locks, the tribes threaten to move the gambling site farther east to Hood River, Ore., on tribal land.

While many in Cascade Locks, which suffers pockets of poverty and high unemployment, are enthusiastic about a jobs-rich casino, Hood River has said the tourist trade is good, and it does not want a casino.

The tribes would build a 500,000- square-foot casino, 250-room hotel and conference facility, and install parking for 3,700 cars on 25 acres at Cascade Locks.

Like the Cowlitz casino proposed at the La Center interchange on Interstate 5, it is evident a major upheaval would occur in the community, in the area and to people and places.

The casino affects a much larger area than just around its own location.

The area of concern spreads to both sides of the Columbia River Gorge, most directly to Stevenson, a short distance north via the Bridge of the Gods.

That's why the insistence by U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, D-Vancouver, on a public meeting on the Washington side of the gorge in Stevenson resulted in a welcome and necessary addition to the meeting schedule. Five Bureau of Indian Affairs meetings will take place: two already in Cascade Locks; Sept. 19 in Portland; Sept. 21, Hood River, and Sept. 28, in Stevenson, at 6 p.m. at the Rock Creek Center. The meetings will shape a draft environmental impact statement.

More information can be found on the Web site http://gorgecasinoEIS.com. Information from opponents is at http://www.nogorgecasino.com.

Baird has declared: "If Washington state is forced to deal with the negative impacts (of) the new casino, I strongly believe it should also receive some of the benefits."

The impact statement could be ready by 2006, and Interior Secretary Gale Norton could make the decision by next summer. Norton has been reluctant to approve off-reservation casinos.

Like gambling's impact on many of its victims, a gorge casino would add up to short-term gains but long-term misery.