Browsing by Subject "Chippewa Indians"

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Fond du Lac Resource Management: 2008 Integrated Resource Management Plan
(2008) Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
This very comprehensive document was reviewed and is felt to have significant content and analysis relevant to Minnesota’s coastal area and water resources. It also contains biophysical and watershed-related content directly relevant to Native communities in Minnesota’s coastal communities. Key content is reproduced below: Executive summary: “This Integrated Resource Management Plan contains information about the Band’s past and current management activities and identifies resources that need additional management. The Integrated Resource Management Plan contains alternatives to resource management, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act, which are based on the management objectives. Management activities range from no action to full implementation, and the alternatives presented reflect that range. The objectives that can be completed under each alternative are displayed in a table located at the end of discussion on alternatives. Public input was solicited on the draft document, which included a variety of management alternatives. Comments obtained from the community and tribal government were incorporated into the final document, and the hearing process provided a basis for the formulation and selection of the preferred alternative. The preferred alternative is officially approved by Resolution # 1183/08. Each resource is described in a narrative that was developed in the following format: o Description of the affected environment o Background for that resource o Issues, concerns, and opportunities for that resource o Goals and objectives for that program, with different management alternatives The final chapter is a summary of the alternatives. The preferred alternative is identified for each resource.” Approximately 15 pages of this report are dedicated specifically to water-based resources, including chapters on wild rice, wetlands and water, and fisheries. Some sections are reproduced below. Wild Rice There are five primary wild rice lakes on the Fond du Lac Reservation. The total area on which wild rice is currently present on these lakes is 843 acres. The wild rice areas on the individual lakes are: Perch Lake, 411 acres; Mud Lake, 151 acres; Rice Portage Lake, 131 acres; Jaskari Lake, 79 acres; and Deadfish Lake, 71 acres. These lakes are all within the Stoney Brook Watershed, which is tributary to the St. Louis River. Wild rice is also present in Side Lake, Cedar Lake, Wild Rice Lake, Simian Lake, and Hardwood Lake. Side Lake and Hardwood Lake are within the Stoney Brook Watershed. Cedar Lake and Simian Lake are within the Simian Creek Watershed. Wild Rice Lake is the headwaters of the Moosehorn River, a tributary of the Kettle River. The density of mature wild rice varies from season to season, as the ecology of wild rice growth is related to cycles of plant decomposition, the number of growing days, and available nutrients. In addition, wild rice is easily lost as a result of natural events, such as high winds, flooding, and hail. The majority of the wild rice resource on the Fond du Lac Reservation is in the Stoney Brook Watershed. Beginning in 1916, the Stoney Brook Watershed was adversely affected by the creation of a network of judicial ditches. These judicial ditches drastically altered the hydrology of the watershed, resulting in the loss of over 500 acres of wild rice habitat. The lower water levels that resulted from the judicial ditching allowed competing vegetation to encroach on areas that at one time supported wild rice. Besides the Stoney Brook Watershed, wild rice resources in other areas of the Fond du Lac Reservation are in decline as well. The reason for this decline is primarily due to higher water levels, caused by road building and beaver activity. The Fond du Lac Natural Resources Program is responsible for the wild rice management and restoration activities on the Fond du Lac Reservation. The primary method of wild rice lake management consists of utilizing water control structures (dams) to stabilize water levels, ditch maintenance, and beaver dam management. The restoration of the major wild rice lakes on Fond du Lac is dependent on restoring the lakes to their historical elevation and a more natural annual hydrological cycle. The implementation of the Rice Portage Wild Rice and Wetland Restoration Project resulted in the construction of four water control structures. These four structures are located at the outlet of Perch Lake, the outlet of Rice Portage Lake, an impoundment that is upstream of Deadfish Lake (commonly known as “Upper Deadfish”), and at the outlet of Deadfish Lake. These structures are used to restore the lake elevations and improve hydrologic function. Issues: The ineffectiveness of current mechanical methods for the restoration project on Rice Portage Lake. Mud Lake continues to produce a thin crop of wild rice, despite its potential for higher yields. Concerns: Invasive species–both invasive and exotic plant species–are of great concern due to their persistence once introduced. While there are no know exotic species in our wild rice lakes, the risk is high given the uses of these lakes by waterfowl hunters and wild rice harvesters. Climate change–weather pattern changes, annual precipitation, and temperature changes–all may impact the viability of our wild rice lakes. Opportunities The Stoney Brook Watershed Study will provide a model that will allow for more effective water level management, and identify opportunities for restoration of the original river system, and abandonment of unnecessary ditch segments. The current trend of land purchasing, land use planning, and increased resource management capabilities affords long term protection for portions of the wild rice lake watershed that were unavailable in the past. Increased Resource Management Division staff and capabilities may allow for opportunities to partner with other agencies and organizations to restore, protect, and enhance wild rice growth throughout the Ceded Territories. Goals & Objectives At a minimum, maintain the current program and management. Increase vegetation treatment acreage per annum. Surface water resources The Fond du Lac Reservation includes abundant freshwater resources, with over 3,000 acres of lakes (828 acres of wild rice waters), nearly 44,000 acres of wetlands, and 96 miles of rivers and streams. The St. Louis River, the largest U.S. tributary to Lake Superior, borders the Reservation to the north and east, and approximately 95% of the waters of the Reservation lie within its watershed. All of the waters within the Reservation are believed to be relatively pristine. There are no known or permitted industrial or municipal discharges to the waters, except to the St. Louis River. Historical hydrological modifications to many of the Reservation’s wild rice lakes occurred with the development of the judicial ditch drainage system early in the twentieth century. Currently, a restoration project is underway to gradually restore Rice Portage Lake, one of the most productive rice lakes, to its historical water levels, and to minimize water level fluctuations on Deadfish Lake, thereby enhancing its stands of rice. Shoreline development and the accompanying potential for increased nutrient inputs (septic discharge and lawn chemicals) and erosion are factors that could affect the water quality of several Reservation lakes. By 1998, the Fond du Lac Environmental Program developed and the Reservation Business Committee adopted a set of Water Quality Standards for the surface water resources of the Reservation, setting contaminant criteria and designating uses for 24 lakes and eight streams within the boundaries, and identifying Outstanding Reservation Resource Waters. More recently, the Band has been granted “Treatment as a State” authority by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under the federal Clean Water Act, enabling it to enact and enforce such standards. As a critical tool for implementing these standards, the Environmental Program designed a comprehensive Water Quality Monitoring Plan. Initially a rigorous three-year monitoring project measuring the physical, chemical and biological quality of 24 lakes and eight streams located within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation, it has since been modified to reflect an ongoing status and trends program. This comprehensive database on Fond du Lac surface waters will also permit the Office of Water Protection to develop numerical biocriteria to replace the narrative biocriteria currently in the tribal Water Quality Standards. The data is also utilized to assess and report on the condition of these water bodies and their attainment of designated and aquatic life uses. Protecting human health requires monitoring for indicators that measure the safety of eating fish or other aquatic wildlife, or of swimming and boating. Conserving ecosystems requires indicators of diverse, healthy aquatic plant and animal communities, and indicators are also needed to assure that water quality and sediment conditions can maintain those biological communities. The Water Quality Monitoring Plan was designed to assess indicators for both human health and aquatic life. Atmospheric deposition of mercury is of particular concern in this boreal forest and wetland ecoregion, as biochemical processes enhance mercury availability to the aquatic food chain, bioaccumulating to levels that are hazardous to top predators and humans. Consequently, fish caught in Reservation waters can be dangerously high in tissue mercury content. Criteria for the Water Quality Standards were calculated under an assumed fish consumption rate that is much higher than the state of Minnesota or the Great Lakes region assumes for the general population, as some Band members rely upon fish at a subsistence level in their diet. The Environmental Program has completed several projects that assessed contaminant levels (mercury, PCBs and lead) and characterized sediments of twelve Reservation lakes and the St. Louis River. In 2001, Fond du Lac partnered with the Minnesota Department of Health to collect and analyze fish tissue from lakes and the St. Louis River (preferred fishing waters), using the data to develop specific fish consumption advisories. Groundwater In 2004, Fond du Lac completed its first Nonpoint Source Assessment Report and applied for Treatment as a State for non-point source authority. The Office of Water Protection received its first base program funding in 2005 and is using that support to implement several projects under the following categories: hydro modification, timber harvesting, roads and urban development. The Resource Management Division is also engaged in a major hydrologic study of the Stoney Brook watershed in partnership with Natural Resources Conservation Service and the U.S. Geological Survey. Ultimately, a Stoney Brook Watershed Management Plan will be developed to account for multiple resource management objectives, including wild rice production and stream and wetland restoration. The Office of Water Protection also has identified aquatic invasive species as a major concern for protecting the Reservation’s water resources. The nonpoint source program provides for broad education and outreach to the Reservation community and affected stakeholders, in order to minimize nonpoint source impacts to Fond du Lac water resources. The primary objectives of the Environmental Program are to ensure the protection of valuable ground water resources through the continued closures of abandoned wells, the delineation of protection zones for wells contributing to community water systems, and the development of a wellhead protection plan for the Reservation. The Fond du Lac Reservation boundary encompasses 101,153 acres, of which 43,264 (43%) are wetlands. These wetlands consist of forested (67% – black spruce, tamarack, or black ash dominant; includes bogs), scrub shrub (29% – alder or willow dominant), emergent (3% – sedge, reed canary grass, or cattail dominant; includes wild rice lakes), and open water (< 1% – coontail dominant). Many wetlands on the Reservation have been degraded due to human activities, particularly by ditching, road construction, agricultural and silvicultural runoff, and commercial and residential development. The Environmental Program has a Wetlands Conservation and Protection program that has been active since October of 1998. A Wetlands Protection and Conservation Plan was adopted by the Reservation Business Committee in October 2000. The plan was expanded, updated and adopted by the Reservation Business Committee in February 2006 to become the Fond du Lac Joint Comprehensive Wetlands Protection and Management Plan. The adoption of this plan led to the development and adoption by the Reservation Business Committee of the Fond du Lac Wetlands Protection and Management Ordinance in June 2006. Erosion and sedimentation resulting from storm water can cause significant impact to surface waters. On the Reservation, construction activities have the potential to be a major contributor to these impacts. Since March 2003, the Office of Water Protection has been providing erosion and sedimentation control best management practices oversight of construction projects on the Reservation. This is the result of the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase II Construction Storm Water regulations as part of Section 402 of the Clean Water Act. In addition to this voluntary oversight, the Office of Water Protection has also entered into a Storm Water Direct Implementation Tribal Cooperative Agreement to conduct inspections of construction sites impacting one acre or more. Two tribal inspectors have been trained and credentialed by Environmental Protection Agency to conduct inspections on the Reservation. More than 13 projects are scheduled for inspection during the construction seasons of 2007 and 2008. In addition, the Office of Water Protection has been developing the required Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans for nearly all projects conducted by the Reservation, as well as occasional projects conducted by individual Band members.” A long list of concerns and threats to water resources is included in the report. These related to taconite and sulfide mining operations, mercury deposition, nonpoint source pollution and other causes. “Fisheries The majority of the lakes on the Fond du Lac Reservation are small, shallow bodies of water, more suitable for growing wild rice than for the management of any significant fisheries. Many of these lakes do have fish, however, with populations consisting primarily of northern pike), largemouth bass, panfish, yellow perch), and bullhead. Due to relatively shallow water, high abundance of aquatic macrophytes, and substrates composed predominantly of decaying organic matter, many of these Reservation lakes are incapable of supporting any naturally reproducing populations of walleye (Sander vitreus). These lakes are, however, conducive to the production of northern pike, panfish, largemouth bass, and bullhead but are also subject to frequent winterkill. Most of the lakes on the Reservation do have some type of public access, though most are strictly carry-in accesses. The fishery of the St. Louis River is by far the most important one for residents of the Reservation. At least four game fish species can be found in appreciable numbers; northern pike, walleye, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish. The channel catfish fishery remains the highest priority of Fond du Lac Band members who regularly use the St. Louis River’s fishery resources. Much can be done to improve the trout populations on the Reservation. Stream improvements and the removal of beaver and their lodges and dams may improve habitat for resident trout populations. Stocking may need to be a part of future management activity, but shouldn’t be random and haphazard as past stocking activities appear to have been. In addition, regular assessments need to be performed following any stocking efforts. The fisheries in the 1854 and 1837 Ceded Territories are numerous and diverse, from small trout streams in the Superior National Forest, to lakes such as Mille Lacs that are capable of sustaining large walleye populations, to the salmon and trout of Lake Superior. Walleye and northern pike appear to be the most important species to Band members, and are relatively abundant throughout both of the Ceded Territories. A high priority for Band members is a concentrated subsistence harvest at Mille Lacs Lake, where a regular spring harvest season occurs.”
Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa: Creative Solutions for a Changing Environment
(2012) Grand Portage Bank of Lake Superior Chippewa
This report summarizes several environmental initiatives and climate change adaptation strategies including wind, community gardens, moose collaring, introduction of bison, etc. Some points are relevant to water resources and are extracted below: Summary: "The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians resides in the northeast corner of Minnesota along Lake Superior. The dynamic environs of the region host a wide array of birds, fish, mammals, amphibians and reptiles. Unprecedented warming of Lake Superior in recent years suggests that climate change is taking effect around Grand Portage and is threatening local wildlife species. One of the Grand Portage Band’s major concerns is that climate change may lead to the loss of culturally significant subsistence species including moose and brook trout in the Lake Superior region. The tribe hopes that by investing in mitigation projects it can accomplish environmental and natural resources goals, achieve energy and food independence, contribute to carbon solutions, and reduce expenses to community members. In addition to existing mitigation projects and initiatives, the tribe is currently developing a comprehensive climate change adaptation and mitigation plan for tribal lands and resources. The plan addresses water quality, air quality, sustainable forestry, adaptation to shifts in fisheries and wildlife, sustainable food ventures, alternative energy development, and energy conservation programs. "Fisheries: To adapt to climate change, the tribe has shifted management of a 61-acre inland lake from a cold water (brook trout) fishery to a cool water fishery (yellow perch and walleye) through fish propagation and stocking. This occurred because warming temperatures in the lake reached critical lethal levels for brook trout causing complete collapse of the population. The Grand Portage Natural Resources Department adapted to the fishery collapse by choosing to develop a cool water fishery using yellow perch and walleye. The Grand Portage Native Fish Hatchery is now using re-circulating water systems to achieve the water temperatures needed for rearing cool water native fish species like walleye and lake sturgeon, in addition to rearing cold water brook trout for Lake Superior. This allows for better utilization and flexibility of the hatchery and stocking operations, while also providing higher growth rates for fish. The Grand Portage Band is also revising legacy contaminant (mercury) concentrations in fish tissue for consumption advisories for the Grand Portage Community. "Invasive Species Management: Aquatic invasive species (AIS) assessments for plants, fish, and invertebrates have been planned for water bodies in Grand Portage. The additional AIS surveys have stemmed from the climate change adaptation plan which noted that warmer water temperatures may increase or aid dispersal of AIS."
Ground Water/Surface Water Interaction in Nearshore Areas of Three Lakes on the Grand Portage Reservation, Northeastern Minnesota, 2003–04
(2006) Jones, Perry M
This is a geologic and hydrological study of three lakes on the Grand Portage Reservation and is largely technical in scope. These three lakes have higher conductivity levels than other lakes in the Reservation. Public water comes from surficial water supplies, while ground water is used for private water sources such as wells, mainly within two miles from Lake Superior. Ground water is too saline to use for public water use. Results of the study show that water movement and quality in this geologically-fractured area are complex, and that lake sediment temperature monitoring may be the most reliable method for natural resources managers. Key findings from the report are extracted and reproduced below. “The availability of good quality water from lakes and wetlands on the Grand Portage Reservation in northeastern Minnesota is an important concern of the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Indians. Development and changing land-use practices may affect the quality and quantity of water resources on the reservation. To effectively protect the water quality and quantity of the lakes and wetlands, an understand¬ing of exchanges between ground water and surface water on local and regional scales is needed. Numerous hydrologic studies have been done on the reservation, but none of these studies has focused on determining ground-water/surface-water interactions of lakes and wetlands. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa Indians, conducted a study to assess ground-water/surface-water interactions in nearshore areas of three lakes, North, Teal, and Taylor Lakes on the Grand Portage Reservation in 2003 and 2004. These three lakes were selected on the basis of the rela¬tively high specific conductance values of water from these lakes compared to other lakes on the reservation. The high specific conductance values of the lake water may indicate that ground-water inflow is an important component of the water balance of the lakes. The objective of the study was to identify areas of ground-water inflow to the three lakes and surface-water outseepage to local aquifers through the assess¬ment of existing aerial photographs and water-quality data. Results from this study indicate that ground-water and surface-water interactions at the study lakes are complex, and the ability of the applied techniques to identify ground-water inflow and surface-water outseepage locations varied among the lakes. Measurement of lake-sediment temperatures proved to be a reliable and relatively inexpensive reconnaissance technique that lake managers may apply in complex settings to identify general areas of ground-water inflow and surface-water outseepage.”
Hydrology and Water Quality of the Grand Portage Reservation, Northeastern Minnesota, 1991-2000
(2002) Winterstein, Thomas A
This is a technical geo-hydrologic study of water resources on the Grand Portage Reservation. There are few references to human uses of water resources, or to anthropogenic factors. The abstract with key points are extracted and reproduced below. Abstract: “The Grand Portage Reservation is located in northeastern Cook County, Minnesota at the boundary between Minnesota, USA, and Ontario, Canada. Between 1991 and 2000 the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a series of studies, with the cooperation with Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, to describe the water resources of the Grand Portage Reservation. Ground water moves primarily through fractures in the bedrock, probably in three ground-water systems: local, regional, and deep. Lake Superior is thought to be the discharge point for brines in the deep ground-water flow system. The watersheds in the Grand Portage Reservation are small and steep; consequently streams in the Grand Portage Reservation tend to be flashy. Lake stages rise and fall with rainfall. The pH of water in the Reservation is generally alkaline (pH greater than 7.0). The alkalinity of water in the Reservation is low. Concentrations of major ions are much greater in ground water than in spring water and surface water. The ionic composition of water in the Reservation differs depending upon the source of the water. Water from 11 of the 20 wells sampled are a calcium-sodium-chloride type. Water from wells GW-2, GW-7, and GW-11 had much greater specific conductance concentrations of major ions compared to the other wells. Some spring water (SP-1, SP-3, SP-4, SP-6, and SP-8) is calcium-bicarbonate type like surface water, whereas other spring water (SP-5 and SP-7) is similar to the calcium-sodium-chloride type occurring in samples from about one-half the wells. The major chemical constituents in surface water are bicarbonate, calcium, and magnesium. Measured tritium and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) concentrations in water samples from springs and wells were used to determine the recharge age of the sampled water. The recharge ages of two of the wells sampled for tritium are before 1953. The recharge ages of the remaining 10 samples for tritium are probably after 1970. The recharge ages of seven SF6 samples were between 1973 and 1998.”
Late Prehistoric Cultural Affiliation Study, Grand Portage National Monument, Minnesota
(1999) Clark, Caven
This is a desk study of indigenous history of the Grand Portage tribal lands over the past 10,000 years. Notes that fisheries were a major resource until the Terminal Woodland sub stage (approx. 700 AD) when subsistence practices became highly specialized and centered on wild rice and pottery making. Discussion centers primarily on previous literature documenting pottery types and burial practices, although there is some mention of use of water and water routes (e.g. cultural exchange through pottery traded along water routes). "Other factors influencing the formation of the archeological record include issues of settlement and seasonality that undoubtedly conditioned the best time of year to visit a site, and the number of people that could reasonably camp there. In a "good place to camp," such as a logistically important river mouth or sheltered bay, at a place of resource abundance, or at a place of spiritual significance, the likelihood of many visits over a long period of time is high...In this regard, Grand Portage, which lacks any significant evidence of a terminal Woodland occupation, was likely not the primary point of departure for groups traveling to and from Isle Royale, nor the destination of groups coming from the east or west. Although Grand Portage is one of the best sheltered bays south of the Canadian border, the mouth of the Pigeon River/Pigeon Bay, Pigeon Point and Waswagoning Bay probably were the focus of occupation prior to the advent of the fur trade as the only nearby locations for spawning whitefish and lake sturgeon. Unfortunately we have no archeological evidence to support this. Mobility and food security depended on large part to water resources. The basic pattern of subsistence followed the seasonal round of resource availability. Spring was a time of coming together for the spawning runs of suckers and sturgeon at river mouths on Lake Superior and the larger inland lakes. It was also a time for harvesting the incoming flight of passenger pigeons arriving from the south. Summer was a period of resource abundance with many options, including beaver, moose, caribou and deer hunting. Group size could vary widely and mobility was at its peak as canoe travel made all the islands, rivers, and lakes the highway of the people. Another major fish run occurred in fall as trout and whitefish sought out their spawning groups and large numbers of people gathered at the river mouths on Lake Superior for the last time of the year for this harvest. Fall brought the harvest of wild rice for those with access to this important crop. The western portion of the Grand Portage Band territory touches upon the "rice district" and provided a storable resource that would, along with preserved fish, meat and berries, provide a savings account for winter survival when the availability of food was least secure. As game fattened and coats thickened in anticipation of winter, attention returned to hunting, and the hunters and their families dispersed to their interior camps. Winter was a period of relative isolation and limited mobility, occasionally ending in a lean period..." Provides an interesting narrative of the fur trade and interactions between French traders and Native communities, noting that Grand Portage was the deport where the great cargo canoes and bateau of the Great Lakes exchanged their westbound loads of trade goods for eastbound bales of castor gras, arriving in the lighter and smaller canoes of the inland waterways of the west. A substantial post was built on the shores of Grand Portage Bay. In the 1790s the depot consisted of 16 buildings surrounded by a log stockade. The waterfront included wharves and a dock capable of accommodating the 75 ton schooner Otter. In 1834 the American Fur Company hired about twenty Grand Portage resident to fish between Grand Portage and Grand Marais, but the fishery closed in 1842 due to lack of markets. In 1836 the American Fur Company expanded its operations to include commercial fishing. Grand Portage Ojibwe were sought after for their knowledge and expertise in the local fishery. Ojibwe men and women were employed by the company at Grand Portage and on Isle Royale. The men were engaged in fishing and the women in processing the catch. Noted is an important spirit associated with water by The Grand Portage and other regional Ojibwe, 'variously called the Underwater Manitou, Underwater Panther, Long-Tailed Underwater Panther, Mishebeshu, or Michi-Pichoux, the Great Lynx. This spirit reflected the abundance and availability of land and sea animals. With its numerous underwater allies it controlled all game, withholding animals and fish from its enemies. The early Lake Superior Ojibwe offered it sacrifices to obtain good fishing, and in the Creation Myth Nanbezho fought it to secure the right to hunt for future Indians. The Underwater Manitou possessed great and dangerous powers. It could cause rapids and stormy waters, and often sank canoes and drowned Indians, especially children. The Ojibwe associated it with the sudden squall waters of the Great Lakes which prevented fishing...' "

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