A federal court on Friday affirmed the recognition of the Cowlitz Tribe, preserving its reservation near La Center and the $510 million casino resort being built there.

“The Cowlitz Indian Tribe scored another important victory today when the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia affirmed ‘in its entirety’ a court ruling that the Secretary of the Interior properly exercised her authority when she created the Cowlitz Indian Reservation,” Cowlitz tribal Chairman Bill Iyall said in a statement. “After 150 years of landlessness, the federal government and the federal courts have confirmed our right to this reservation.”

The case against the Cowlitz’s federal recognition and jurisdiction was initially launched by the city of Vancouver, Clark County, the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Citizens Against Reservation Shopping — a group that includes Columbian Publisher Scott Campbell — and owners and operators of La Center’s cardrooms. The groups sought to block the Cowlitz casino and resort by challenging the tribe’s status as well as its 152-acre reservation under the Indian Reorganization Act, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.

On Friday, the appeals court upheld a 2014 ruling from the U.S. District Court dismissing their arguments.

“The Cowlitz are a ‘recognized Indian tribe now under federal jurisdiction,’ ” wrote Circuit Judge Robert L. Wilkins.