OROVILLE -- Enterprise Rancheria is still seeking a casino in Yuba County, saying it's on tribal land, although some opponents say the tribe is jumping outside its Butte County home.

Since 2002, the rancheria has been working to put 40 acres into trust on the Highway 65 corridor south of Marysville near Sleep Train Amphitheater, and get approval to operate a casino there.

The tribe has offices in Oroville and Marysville.

The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs recently asked agencies within a 25-mile radius to comment on the project.

Enterprise Tribal Chair Glenda Nelson insists the land is located within the tribe's original land.

"Our aboriginal land is within the Feather River drainage area," Nelson said. "Our people traveled up and down the Feather River."

Nelson said more than 800 members of Enterprise Rancheria just want to exercise the same right other tribes have to operate a casino, and they are following the same process.

"It is our intention to work with the federal government to put the land in trust and to work with the other Indian tribes to support their economic interests in the state," Nelson said.

The BIA allows tribes to operate casinos on tribal land, if it doesn't break state law, she said.

Many tribes have built casinos outside tribal lands that were put into trust, Nelson said.

But some disagree about definitions.

Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, said the rancheria's tribal land is a 40-acre parcel in Oroville, which the tribe

put in trust a long time ago. He called it "reservation shopping" for the rancheria to seek a casino in Yuba County.

It's an issue of fairness, Logue said. Other casinos had followed the requirements for locating gaming on tribal lands, he said, even though the land for casinos, such as Gold Country and Feather Falls in Oroville, weren't located in prime economic development areas.

Tribes that jump boundaries and locate casinos along main thoroughfares would get an economic edge over casinos that followed the rules, he said.

"There really isn't any casino in the state that would support this because it isn't on tribal land," Logue said.

Additionally, the people of Yuba County had voted against it, he said.

However, John Maier, an attorney for Enterprise, said the tribal land issue is complex. Maier said land now designated as tribal land was actually the land of one or two tribal members. The Enterprise Rancheria had many members in 1915 and 1916 who owned land in Marysville.

The rancheria had two 40-acre parcels, which has been the focus of a disagreement between two segments of the Enterprise tribe. One parcel was covered with water when the Lake Oroville Dam was filled, and Maier said the tribe couldn't locate a casino on the other parcel.

Maier said the BIA left tribal land issues a little murky.

"There's a lot of confusion even on the part of tribal members," Maier said.

The tribal chair of Mooretown Rancheria, which operates Feather Falls Casino, disagreed. Gary Archuleta said Mooretown had lost land when tribes were disbanded in the 1950s. When tribes were allowed to reform, Mooretown tried to buy the original land back, but it wasn't for sale, so it reformed on land where the casino is now located.

If Enterprise wanted to locate on its land in Oroville, Mooretown would welcome the competition, Archuleta said. But jumping down to Highway 65 would choke off business to Oroville casinos, he said.

"Our tribal members have told us to oppose getting that land into trust," Archuleta said.

But a spokesperson for Enterprise said the tribe is just trying to use an economic tool available to tribes across the state. Additionally, Charlie Banks-Altecruse said the $150 million project would jump-start the economy and create more than 4,000 jobs when construction is flailing.

When the eight-story casino with a 170-room hotel was under construction, about 1,300 people would be employed, he said. Those people spending money in the area would create another 650 jobs at local businesses where employees spent money.

About 2,000 people would be employed when the casino was operating, which in turn would create another 400 jobs at other businesses, he said. The casino would put $256 million a year into the economy, he said.

Enterprise is just going through the process other tribes have used to get a casino, Banks-Altecruse said.

The tribe is one of only a few in the state applying for a casino that have been allowed to start preparing a federal environmental document, he said.

The Department of Interior will follow up on agency comments that are due back by the middle of March, he said.

The tribe is confident that when the agencies all look at the record, they will decide favorably for the tribe, Banks-Altecruse said.

An office person at Berry Creek Rancheria that operates Gold Country Casino said Tribal Chair Jim Edwards declined to comment.

"In fact, I can't even release his name," she said, and hung up.