The Chehalis Tribe lost its lawsuit over property taxes in Thurston County, Washington.

The tribe owns 51 percent of Great Wolf Lodge. The facility is located on trust land but Judge Benjamin Settle said the county can tax improvements on the 49 percent of the business that is owned by Great Wolf Resorts Inc., a non-Indian company.

In the decision, Settle said the county's interest in taxing the property outweighed federal and tribal interests. He said the county provides municipal services to the lodge while the federal government has had little interaction with the property and the tribe doesn't manage it on a daily basis.

According to The Olympian, property taxes on the lodge come to about $1 million a year.

Get the Story:
County can tax Great Wolf Lodge (The Olympian 4/3)
Great Wolf redux (The Olympian 4/5)

Court Decision:
Chehalis Tribe v. Thurston County (April 2, 2010)

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Editorial: Resolve Chehalis Tribe tax dispute in court (4/15)
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Opinion: Chehalis resort tax assessment dispute (11/17)
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Chehalis Tribe signs $1.5M services deal with county (4/5)
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