72 Acres of Forest Service Land Transferred to Quinault Nation Trust, with Zero Gaming Clause

This bill, officially named the Quinault Indian Nation Land Transfer Act, moves approximately 72 acres of federal land in Washington State—known as Allotment 1157—from the Forest Service over to the Department of the Interior. The Interior Department will then hold this specific parcel “in trust” for the Quinault Indian Nation, which is the governmental equivalent of recognizing the land as belonging to the Nation. Once this transfer is complete, the 72 acres automatically become part of the Quinault Indian Reservation, managed under the same rules as other trust lands.

The Fine Print: Reservation Expansion with Strings Attached

For the Quinault Nation, this transfer represents a meaningful expansion of their recognized reservation territory, reinforcing the federal trust relationship. However, the bill includes a significant restriction that cuts off a major potential revenue stream: the land absolutely cannot be used for any gaming or gambling operations under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). This means while the Nation gains land, they cannot develop it for casino revenue, a common economic driver for many tribes.

Who Pays for the Cleanup?

Here’s the part that policy analysts are flagging: the land transfer comes with an environmental disclosure requirement. When the Department of the Interior takes the land into trust, they must comply with Section 120(h) of CERCLA, meaning they have to disclose any hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants found on the property. This is good for transparency, but the bill explicitly states that the Secretary of the Interior is not required to clean up or remove those hazardous materials just because they are taking the land into trust. For the Quinault Nation, this means they gain the land, but potentially inherit the environmental liability and cleanup costs associated with any existing contamination, effectively shifting the burden from the federal government to the Nation.

What Changes and What Doesn't

This legislation ensures that the transfer won't mess with any existing treaty rights the Quinault Indian Nation holds under their 1855 and 1856 treaties with the U.S. government. So, while the administrative status of the land changes immediately—it’s now reservation land held in trust—the deeper legal relationship and rights established centuries ago remain untouched. For anyone living or working near this specific 72-acre parcel, the most immediate change is the shift in management from the Forest Service to the Department of the Interior, and the confirmation that this area will be developed under tribal authority, albeit without the option for gaming.