B a d R i v e r N a t u r a l Re s o u r c e (2018)

B a d R i v e r N a t u r a l Re s o u r c e

By: Naomi Tillison, Natural Resource Director

2

Bad River Natural

Resou rce Depar t men t

72682 Maple Street

PO Box 39

Odanah, WI, 54806

Phone: 715-682-7123

Fax: 715-682-7118

Email: NRDOutreach@badriver-nsn.gov

~MISSION STATEMENT~

The Department strives for resource management

which both conserves the natural resources for the future generations and provide for the needs of the present. The departments existence reflects the importance

the Bad River Tribe places on its right and ability to

exercise sovereignty, self-determination and selfregulation in the area of natural resource management.

Were on the Web!

Visit www.badriver-nsn.gov

017 was a year of transition for the Bad River

Natural Resources Department

(NRD). It’s the first year without

Erv Soulier leading our Department and in his legacy a woman is

now in charge of NRD. Our longtime Forester, Doug Tutor,

retired from the Department in

August, and we managed to

keep Bob Wilmer out of retirement to help us with our

Conservation Enforcement

Program.

We had four Department employees change positions over

the last year, and we welcomed eight new people in fulltime positions onto our team. We

enjoyed bringing back our dedicated seasonal staff and hiring new

seasonal help to assist our Department in our many accomplishments. Our current staff directory

can be viewed at: http://badrivernsn.gov/tribal-operations/naturalresources/nr-programs-a-personnel

Despite all of the personnel

changes, the NRD team worked

hard and continued to do amazing

work! Our highlights from 2017

include (in no particular order):

•

•

Purchased 511 pounds of

green rice and reseeding around 11

acres in the

Kakagon Sloughs.

This is the most rice

we have purchased

since 2009 when we

purchased 617

pounds.

Continued to build our capacity on issues associated

with industrial agricultural,

or Concentrated

Animal Feeding

Operations

(CAFOs). We even

sent staff to the

National Manure

Expo to learn about

the most current

•

•

technology and practices in manure management.

JOIN US @ ELDERLY DAY

in MAY to Learn about our

WETLAND FUNCTIONAL

ASSESSMENTS

*Watch for Event Flyers*

Implemented a NRD Summer Youth Program for thirSpecial points of interest:

teen tribal youth focused on

plants, including the identifica- • Natural Resources Summer Youth

Programs

tion, cultural significance, and

management of them. We

• Wildlife 2017 Annual Report

were

• Forestry Technician Introduction

thrilled to

have mul- • Conference Room C Modifications

tiple tribal • POWTS Informational Guide

elders

• New Conference Room Photos

come

teach our group about the propInside this issue:

er harvest of plants!

Launched our new research

boat Minwaanimad (Good

Breeze) on Lake Superior to

...Continued on page 4...

Nathan Kilger, Air Quality Specialist

S

ince the ambient air monitoring

site was first established in the

field behind the old LCO school 14 years

ago, the Air Office in the Bad River Natural

Resource Department has monitored fineparticulate pollution and ground-level ozone

(what some refer to as “bad” ozone, not the

“good” kind that is up in the ozone layer).

Of the six pollutants that are of primary

concern across the country,

ozone and fine-particulate

pollution are the two that

we have chosen to monitor

here.

Ozone is created from

several ingredients

(nitrogen oxides, volatile

Bad River Natural Resource Department staff giving a tour of the air

monitoring site to visitors from the US EPA Indian Environmental

Office in June

.

…Continued on page 2...

Monitoring Air Pollution on 2

Bad River continued..

POWTS Information

3

Large Format Printing Expanding

5

Outreach Updates

5

Moving Forward to Make

the Bad River Community

Safer from Disasters

6

Radon on the Bad River

Reservation

7

2017 Wildlife Annual

Report

8-9

Fisheries Earns Bragging

Rights

10

More Wildlife Updates

11

NRD Hosts Annual Xmas

Party Hay Ride (Photos)

12

Page 2

COMMON GROUND

Page 11

Bad River Forestry Technician

Nathan Kilger, Air Quality Specialist

organic compounds, sunlight, etc.) and when compared to Milwaukee, Chicago, and Minneapolis, our

ozone levels here at Bad River are relatively low.

However, compared to the National Ambient Air

Quality Standards (Standard) that are set across the

country to protect human and environmental health,

our ozone pollution is only a little bit below that cutoff level. Any large increases in ozone here may

start to impact human and environmental health.

According to the EPA, high ozone levels lead to

shortness of breath or pain when breathing, inflamed

or damaged airways, increased frequency of asthma

attacks, makes lung diseases worse, and can lead to

ard, but we do see that some days have higher

pollution than others. According to the EPA,

high particulate levels lead to aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, irritation of the

airways including difficulty breathing or coughing, nonfatal heart attacks, and premature death

in people with heart or lung disease. Certain

weather conditions can influence fine-particulate

pollution levels too.

We need at least three years of continuous, uninterrupted data to

put into the mathematical equations

for Bad River’s air

monitoring to have

enough meaning

for us to compare

our air quality to

the Standard. If

Bad River lost

funding for monitoring air pollution, or had to

USGS mercury isotope samplers #3 and #4 at the Bad River

move the air moniAir Site, along with inlets for measuring atmospheric elemental

mercury and ground-level ozone. This small solar panel runs the

toring site, a threeyear gap in the

chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We

data would occur and we would need another

monitor ozone to see what our ozone level is and

three years to get back to the current level of air

what the trend of ozone is over time, and we can

quality data.

also combine these measurements with our weather

There are other air monitoring sites around Wismeasurements to see how the “bad” ozone moves

consin, but Bad River is the only one in the

throughout the area.

Wisconsin portion of the Lake Superior Basin.

Fine particulates are created by burning things (coal/

The nearest monibiomass power

toring sites are in

plants or wildDuluth, Taylor

fires as examCounty, or just

ples), or menorth of

chanical activiMinocqua. Air

ties (mining and

monitoring sites

processing, dirt

are a critical part

roads, agriculof the enforcetural fields).

ment process

They can be

under the Clean

created nearby

Air Act in areas

or can travel on

of high pollution.

the wind. Our

When air pollulevels of finetants rise above

particulate

the Standard,

pollution here at

Bad River receives Treatment in the Same Manner as a State TAS for air

federal rules kick

Bad River are

quality in February

5. Acting EPA Regional Administrator Bharat Mathur

in that require

half the Standpresented a plaque to Bad River Chairman Donald Moore, Sr.

Hello Everyone,

states and permitted facilities

to bring that

pollution level

down below the

Standard.

Several counties

in Wisconsin

have pollution

levels that

are above

Alissa Dickerson next to the fine particulate

sampler in November

at the Bad River Air

the StandSite.

ard. Part of

Kenosha County and all of Sheboygan

County are above the 2008 Standard for

ozone, and part of Oneida County is above

the 2010 Standard for sulfur dioxide,

another health hazard pollutant.

Not all tribes can afford an air monitoring

station or do not have an air quality program in their Natural Resource Department. Happily, Bad River has been able to

secure grants to make this possible. We

are proud that we have been able to monitor for the past 14 years. Bad River is

grateful to our partners at the US EPA for

all of our funding for air quality monitoring.

The rest of the air monitors in each Great Lakes

states are operated by each state’s Department

of Natural Resources or equivalent agency. But

even these air monitoring sites need funding to

continue. A committee of the Wisconsin Legislature recently voted to eliminate funding for

the air monitor in Sheboygan County (the county listed above as being higher than the Standard for ozone), which would theoretically eliminate the air monitoring in that county (https://

docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2017/proposals/

ab588) . The proposal has not been signed into

law yet and would then have to undergo a federal review process. The Air Office is watching to

see if that proposal advances.

In the meantime, the Air Office will continue to

monitor air pollutants as a tool to protect human

and environmental health. More information on

the Air Standards can be found on our website

(shortened weblink): http://x.co/NAAQS

My name is Devon DeRosso I was recently hired as the New Forestry Technician here at Bad River. For a background I was born and raised in ironwood Michigan, I attended Luther L. Wright

high school, where I was a four-sport athlete, Football, weight lifting, baseball, and track & field.

After high school, I attended Vermilion College in Ely Minnesota. While attending college I studied Natural Resources Technology/ Forestry and played football for the Ironmen. I graduated

from college in May of 2017. When the position here at Bad River came open I was very excited, I

would be able to stay close to home doing what I went to school for and continue with my passion for the outdoors. I am an avid fisherman, hunter, and sports fan. I look forward to the future

of my position here at Bad River, managing the forest for years to come.

Thank You!

Critter of the Month

In 2017, the Wildlife Specialist & GLIFWC warden, Christina Dzwonkowski, taught the Critter of

the Month program to Bad River Head Start and

Our Lady of the Lake schools. Students were

taught about beavers, red fox & gray fox, wolves,

coyotes, white-tailed deer, moose, elk, and black

bears. Critter of the month began in 2014 and is

continuing through 2018.

2017 Goals Updates

•

To have another successful piping plover

nesting season on Long Island. Continue to

expand our education and outreach for this

project.

An update was included above. Signs for the beaches about piping plovers were created in 2017 and

will be put in the ground this summer!

• Continue mercury and contaminant study

on bald eagles on the reservation. Create ed/

outreach material on projects

An update was included above. Once analysis is

complete education and outreach materials will be

created.

• Continue ed/outreach with youth and community. Working with local schools on critter of the month program, Lake Superior

Day, field trip to see plovers on Long Island,

CBBNF Tour

An update was included above. In 2018, we would

like to add a bat monitoring project with Bad River

Youth as part of the Indigenous Arts & Science

Program.

• Implement the Climate Change Monitoring

Plan and continue long-term acoustic monitoring project

An update was included above.

• Continue to monitor reservation wolf packs

and work towards better co management of

wolves within the areas surrounding the

Reservation

An update on this was included above.

•

Wildlife Biologist Certification

Certification was received May 2016!

Page 10

COMMON GROUND

FISHERIES EARNS BRAGGING RIGHTS

~POWTS Stands for Private On-site Wastewater Treatment System~

he Bad River Tribal Fish

Hatchery has been stock-

ing fish into reservation waters since

1968. Throughout this time, the hatchery has concentrated its activity on

rearing walleye fry and fingerlings to

supplement natural reproduction within

reservation waters. After vastly expanding the hatchery in 2005, the Tribe

was able to increase walleye production

and begin producing Lake Superior

strain yellow perch.

The Bad River Tribal Fish Hatchery

can incubate up to 40 million walleyes

and 4 million yellow perch eggs annually. If ideal conditions persist

throughout the rearing season, the

hatchery could produce up to 1 million

walleye fingerlings in a single year.

The Bad River Fish Hatchery is something that he

tribe should

be proud of.

We are the

biggest producer of

Walleye that

stocks Lake

Superior.

There are

several different agencies that

~FISH DOCTOR~

Bad River’s own (ilary Butler Junie tending to

the walleye fry as he does Every Year.

stock

A Homeowner’s Guide to Septic Systems

Submitted by: Eugene Bigboy, POWTS Inspector

Lorrie Salawater, Fisheries Specialist

T

Page 3

walleye in the lake, but they don’t

come close to what the tribe produces.

As you can see by the graph that from

2002 to 2016 we have out stocked any

other hatchery by millions.

Page 4

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complete lake trout assessments.

Initiated a pilot solar project near our long-term air quality monitoring and weather station. We have produced over 1500 kWH

of electricity to date. See page 1 for

more details.

Held a wolf howling event for approximately 50 youth and community members.

Received a national award for GIS Program of the Year!

Engaged in the Lake Superior Partnership to implement

the Lake Superior Lakewide Management Plan.

Created a story map about the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline crossing

the Chequamgeon-Nicolet National Forest to increase awareness

of traditional knowledge and unique resources in this area. Our

story map can be viewed at: http://www.arcgis.com/apps/

MapJournal/index.html?

appid=6de2694e7f9a4713b3f83f9022006589

COMMON GROUND

•

•

•

•

Completed over 650 reviews under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

•

•

Continued our FEMA-funded project to develop a Pre-Disaster

Mitigation Plan in collaboration with other Departments, community members, and organizations. See the article on page 6 for

more details about this project.

•

Monitored the piping plover population on Long Island, in collaboration

with the National Park Service and

other partners. This year there were

four nesting pairs of piping plovers

producing 9 chicks.

Continued to grow our Invasive Species Program,

including controlling wild parsnip around the community and surveying for Phragmites in the

Kakagon/Bad River Sloughs complex. See page 8

for more details.

Engaged youth and teachers in our Indigenous Arts and Sciences

Program (IAS), a program we implement in collaboration with the

Education Department. As part of our IAS Program, Tribal Council

members met with the Ashland School Board Members.

Collaborated with other tribal programs to hold seasonal camps to

engage youth and community members in traditional activities.

•

•

Raised walleye and perch at our Hatchery, and released 2.7 million walleye fry, 213,320 walleye fingerlings, and 150,000 yellow perch into the Kakagon and Bad Rivers. See page 10 for more details.

Evaluated the resources and the conditions of the septic systems

and realty on the Madeline Island

portion of the Reservation.

Worked as a team to review numerous

projects proposed by utility and pipeline companies to ensure projects are implemented in a manner that avoid and minimizes impacts to tribal resources and protects community health.

Hosted a Spill Response Workshop taught by

U.S. EPA, U.S. Coast Guard, and Wisconsin

DNR to build our capacity to respond if there was

a release of hazardous materials.

Collaborated with University of Michigan to implement a

project assessing the potential non-economic loss and

damage from climate change. This project involved numerous interviews with tribal members willing to share

their knowledge.

Evaluated over 100 parcels and initiated the process to transfer

these tribal fee parcels into trust.

Collaborated with Tribal Roads Department and Town of Sanborn to improve

the design of culverts to promote fish

passage and improve aquatic health.

•

Held our biennial Environmental Open House and our annual Lake Superior Day celebration

with 165 and 135 participants, respectively. We

also had over 100 participants at our Earth Day

celebration.

Implemented a FireWise Project in collaboration

with Wisconsin DNR to reduce fuel (dead branches,

shrubs, etc.) around homes. Wood chips from

this project were provided to the Food Sovereignty Program for mulch and compost.

Collected 154 water samples from Lake Superior beaches within the Reservation. Only three

advisories were issued in the 2017 beach season

due to elevated pathogen levels.

Revised the Tribal Trapping Code and Non-Member Indian Harvest

Code, incorporating the community input we received.

Took first place at the Employee

Appreciation Day picnic!

We worked on many other projects (and

with many partners) beyond these to protect, enhance, and restore the natural resources so current and future generations

can continue to depend on these resources

to support a healthy community. Miigwech to all the hard working NRD

staff and for all the support we received from tribal leadership, community members, our partners, and our funders!

Page 9

previous two years.

Despite popular belief, the Bad River

Wildlife Program does not actively remove

beavers. There are only several locations where

removal must occur otherwise they are left

alone. How removal occurs, is that first all

beavers are trapped and removed from a location then a hole in the dam is made but only the

size of the existing channel in that stream.

Sometimes explosives are used, but most of the

time these holes are made by hand. This year

numerous beaver dams and beaver colonies

were removed through a partnership between

the Tribe, Town of Sanborn, and APHIS-WS

along the township roads due

to damage being caused to

the roads.

Non-Game Species/

Endangered Species

The Tribe continues to monitor the movements of four (4) wolf packs

which range includes parts of the

reservation during

2017. During

2017, wolves were

monitored using

telemetry, track,

and howling surveys. These surveys suggested that twenty-one (21)

to twenty-six (26) wolves

were commonly using the

reservation before pups were

born spring of 2017. There

is no harvest allowed on the Bad River Reservation. Endangered species funding will continue

to be used this winter to improve our winter

surveying methods/transportation for surveying.

Productivity surveys for piping plover

were conducted on Long Island from 25 May

2017 to 27 July 2017. There were four (4)

breeding pairs that produced a total of nine (9)

chicks, of which seven (7) fledged, in 2017.

The Tribe is also on its fifth year of

using acoustic recording units

(ARUs) to monitor amphibian and

neo-tropical migrants on interior

wetlands throughout the Reservation.

We have ten (10) long-term monitoring sites.

Coastal Wetland Protection and

Enhancement

In the 2017, under the supervision

of the Bad River Invasive Species Coordinator and with the

assistance of multiple funding programs (mostly

GLRI) our invasive

species crew were

able to cut and treat

ninety-six buckthorn

plants, treat six acres

of purple loosestrife,

hand-pull one acre of

hybrid cattail, survey one

hundred twenty acres for

phragmites, treat wild

parsnip along roadsides

and the Pow Wow

Grounds, reseed eleven

acres of wild rice,

and inspect fortyseven pieces of machinery for invasive

species.

Circle of Flight Project

An Assessment of Toxin Concentrations, Transport, and at-risk Species on

the Bad River Reservation

For several years, BRNRD has

been conducting assessments of toxin concentrations at the various trophic levels of

biota, sediment,

and water on

the reservation.

As part of this

study the wildlife program has

been focusing

on amphibians and bald

eagles.

BRNRD currently working with a contractor to compile and analyze this information.

Education and Outreach

The Wildlife Program participated in many educational

activities over the 2017 season. In February there was

the winter camp at the community center where the wildlife program had a fur and track identification

table. In April there was the

Bad River Natural Resources

Environmental Open House

where the wildlife program

had two table of furs, another

table of scat and tracks, and

another table full of informational materials. Then there

was also a table full of invasive species educational materials from the Department.

Then in July there was Lake Superior

Day where there was some piping plover

and invasive species educational materials. In October the wildlife program had

a wolf monitoring table at the Northern

Great Lakes Visitor Center for the middle school science symposium and we

also had a table showing natural resource

apps with the Bad River GIS and Invasive Species Program. For

wolf

awareness

week that

month, the

wildlife

program in partnership with the Education Department and IAS Program hosted

a wolf howling event with Bad

River Youth programs that was a

huge success. The month concluded with a fun Bat Awareness

Week Activity at the Northern

Great Lakes Visitor Center.

Currently the Wildlife Program

is working with the Education

Department, GLIFWC, Wisconsin Trapper’s Association, and

others to plan a Trapper’s Education Course this upcoming October.

Stay tuned for more information.

Continued on page 11

Page 8

Page 5

By Suzi Smith, GIS & Mapping Specialist

T

Lacey Hill-Kastern, Wildlife Specialist

Positions:

Wildlife Specialist (FT) – Lacey Hill Kastern

(since 2010)

Invasive Species Coordinator (FT) – Darrel

Burns (since May 2017)

Wildlife & Fisheries Aide – (1) Seasonal

Piping Plover Monitors – (2) Seasonal

Natural Resource Aides (invasive crew) –

seasonal and crew size varies

Funding: (funding levels by agency can vary annually; competitive grant funding)

BIA – Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Circle of Flight, Endangered Species, Invasive Species

USFWS – Coastal Program, Tribal Wildlife

Grant

WTCAC – Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

NRCS – Environmental Quality Incentives

Program

USFS – Aagask Habitat Restoration

Past funding: APHIS-VS CWD funding, NPS

GLRI Piping plover funding, USFWS

GLRI Piping plover funding

Age: The Tribe’s Wildlife Program ran out of

funding and ceased to exist for several years. The

program started back up the fall of 2010. The

Tribe’s Wildlife Specialist, Lacey Hill Kastern,

received Wildlife Biologist Certification through

The Wildlife Society which is an international professional organization committed to addressing

national and international issues that affect the current and future status of wildlife in North America

and throughout the

world. There are currently only 1900 recognized certified wildlife

biologists around the

World.

Wildlife Program

Summary

The Wildlife/GIS Specialist is responsible for developing and maintaining wildlife survey and management capabilities

along with providing GIS expertise for the Bad

River Tribe. The Wildlife/GIS Specialist:

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Monitors the Tribe’s wolf population and is

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pursuing

state recognition of the

Tribe’s 2013

Ma’iingan

Management Plan (this plan is currently open for revisions, stay tuned

for upcoming public meetings)

Develops strategies to assess and

evaluate the status of on-Reservation

wildlife resources;

Provides recommendations for management strategies related to onReservation wildlife resources;

Incorporates GPS/GIS into various

wildlife studies;

Assists the Tribe with additional

GIS needs;

Prepares progress and technical

reports for various wildlife/GIS

projects;

Oversees multiple GLRI funded

projects conducted by the Natural

Resources Department on the Reservation;

Coordinates educational/outreach

activities for Tribal and surrounding

communities on these projects, this

includes the Critter of the Month

program with local schools;

Prepares grant proposals to acquire

funds to assist the Natural Resources

Department;

Maintains familiarity with current

grant funding opportunities and

processes in the areas of natural

resources;

2017 Summary

Interior Subsistence Wildlife

he black bear population on

the reservation was unable to be

surveyed using bait stations during

July 2016 or July 2017. In 2016, a

massive flood event occurred right

when we were going to be checking the bait stations and since this

survey must be completed at the

same time every year we were unable to

complete it. This past year the Tribe’s

Wildlife Specialist was on maternity

leave and no one was available to fill in

for her during this period. In 2015, the

bear population remained healthy and on

the rise on the reservation with forty-four

(44) percent of the fifty (50) bait stations

being hit during the 2015 survey. There

was a drastic decline in bait stations hit

during the 2013 season, with only sixteen

(16) percent of the bait stations being hit.

The 2014 season should a slight increase

with twenty-eight (28) percent being hit.

According to WDNR registration nonmembers harvested sixty-four

(64) deer on the Reservation during the

2016 deer season. That is up from the

nonmember harvest of twenty-two (22)

the year before. Tribal members received

a total of ten (10) transport tags for deer

so the deer could be taken off the Reservation during the 2016 season. This is

down from the forty (40) tagged during

the previous 2015 season.

The woodcock and ruffed

grouse populations were surveyed in

April 2017 at ten (10) established monitoring stations. A total of twelve (12)

ruffed grouse drums, nine (9) woodcock

and zero (0) turkey gobbles were heard at

the monitoring stations. The number of

woodcock observed has remained stagnant since this survey began.

Nuisance Wildlife Control

Four (4) nuisance bears were

relocated and thirteen (13) bear complaints were investigated by Conservation Enforcement Program staff during

2017 season. This is consistent to the

nuisance animal control conducted in the

P

erhaps one of BRNRD’s better kept secrets;

GIS & Mapping Services maintains a 42” wide color

plotter which now features more paper types and

are reasonable (e.g.

widths for large format printing needs. A Native

one 24” x 36” poster

American, female-owned business - True North

on glossy photo pa-

Resources - out of Milwaukee now supplies the

plotter that is housed in the BRNRD office. Available

paper types are: coated drafting paper, glossy photo

paper, and *new* polypropylene banner material.

per costs around

$20) and are only

intended to cover

cost of supplies, with

The banner material is more flexible and durable

than the paper, but there are currently no waterproof

inks available, so all posters are recommended for

reduced rates of

multiple copies of the

same poster. If you have

indoor use or temporary/fair weather outdoor use

only. Maximum widths of banners and posters are

36” for all paper types and 42” for all paper types and

banner material. Of course, there is a printing fee

schedule, but prices

Example plotter – ours is not this fancy, but it

gets the job done, so let’s just call it retro

large format printing needs,

or want to learn more, stop by BRNRD offices during regular business hours

and either Suzi or Berthea will be happy to help.

Berthea Olby, NRD Outreach Coordinator

B

oozhoo!

)’m the Outreach Coordinator for the

Natural Resource Department in Bad River and )

wanted to provide you with a couple updates on

the projects ) have been working on recently;

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The Bad River Natural Resource Common

Ground Quarterly Newsletter which consists of updates from our NRD programs

every months on current and upcoming

projects/activities.

*Be sure to catch the Spring Edition

coming in June as were introducing a

Lake Superior Days Photo Contest

which were hoping to run annually before our Lake Superior Days Celebration.

Coordinating Annual Lake Superior Days

Celebrations—coming July ,

—

located on the shores of our beautiful Lake

Superior with Lake Superior Educational

Booths and Activities. See Flyer on Page

.

Coordinating Bi-Yearly Environmental

Open House—coming next year

– Stay

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Tuned for More Details!

Annual Earth Day Celebration– Coming SOON!

Scheduled for Late April depending on the

Weather Watch for Updates!

Updating our Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

brochure to provide current updates on the

projects and plans using GLR) funds.

Modifying our Conference Room C in the Chief

Blackbird Center by adding a little S. T. Y. L.

E. with canvas prints of NRD original pictures.

Designing Signage for Tribal Beaches

*Waverly Beach Sign & No Trespassing Signs

coming Summer

8!

Natural Resource Department

Facebook Page! Make sure to

L)KE US!

Page 6

COMMON GROUND

Page 7

COMMON GROUND

Daniel Wiggins, Air Quality Technician

By Lissa Radke, Environmental Specialist, Natural Resources Department

T

he Tribe’s Natural Resources

Department, in collaboration with other tribal Departments and community

members, is working on a project

that’s funded through a grant issued

by the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) called a

“Natural Disaster Pre-Mitigation Plan.”

This project will help the Tribe prevent

and reduce impacts from future

storms and natural disasters.

“Mitigation” means to reduce the severity or seriousness of something,

which in this case, means reducing

the often severe impacts from natural

disasters such as floods, droughts,

tornadoes, wildfires, blizzards, etc.

A group of representatives from numerous Bad River departments and

services have been meeting monthly

since last Fall to identify the natural

and human resources that might be

vulnerable and defining ways to re-

duce impacts. At

an early January

meeting, the

group started

ranking the severity of disasters

and began to

brainstorm ways

to keep the tribe

safer from harm.

In just one hour,

16 participants

came up with 78

possible mitigations for 8 disasters!

R

adon is a carcinogen that has been linked to the

development of lung cancer. It is a natural radioactive

gas that is present everywhere and is commonly traced

back to sources in the soils around your home. It has

the ability to infiltrate your home through foundation

cracks and openings and once in your home can attach

to particles in the air where they are then breathed in.

Since radon is radioactive it can cause damage to lung

tissue and contribute to the development of lung cancer.

The Bad River pre-disaster planning team members illed the

conference room at a recent meeting to discuss how to reduce

impacts resulting from natural disasters that could happen on the

Reservation.

At the February

meeting, the

group generated

mitigation ideas for 8 more natural disasters, and a small group of folks sorted through all mitigation ideas to come

up with one master list of

possibilities. At the March

15 meeting, the group will

prioritize those that are

most important, and the

final list of recommendations will be shared with

community members

throughout this Spring

and Summer to get public

comments and input.

So while the planning

group is developing a new

draft plan for Bad River,

community input is necesLeft to Right: Denise Gilles, Jessica Strand, Edith Leoso, and Ed sary to make it valuable

Wiggins came up with 7 ways the Tribe could reduce impacts from

severe thunderstorms and high winds, and a dam or levee break. and useful for everyone.

Your input is important!

Feel free to attend the March 15

meeting at 1:30 p.m. in the Housing Gathering Room, and look for

a short survey we will be sending

around to the community to get

your thoughts.

The deadline for having a Counciland FEMA-approved pre-disaster

mitigation plan is September 2018,

so we’re on a very speedy deadline, but we welcome everyone’s

feedback in the next few months!

For more information contact Lissa

at 682-7123 in the Natural Resources Department.

The Bad River Tribe has a Tribal Indoor Radon Program,

which has been testing

tribal homes since

2006. Educating the

Tribal community

about radon is crucial,

along with the proper

training to tribal staff to

provide radon expertise

to Tribal Members. The

Program has annual

testing from January to

March and has continued to work with the

Bad River Housing

Authority (BRHA) and

private homeowners

with testing and addressing radon issues,

as needed.

The BRHA has been a

great partner in addressing radon effectively. Since 2006 the

BRHA has testing each

housing unit at least

once. There has been a

Radon Mitigation Fan used for lowering

levels on Housing Authority unit.

total of eight housing

units that have tested

above the United States Environmental Agency’s action

level have a radon mitigation (reduction) system and shall

continue to be tested in the future to assure effectiveness

of systems and analyze changing or fluctuating of radon

levels.

The Tribe still faces many challenges with addressing

radon effectively. Ideally new homes should be built

with radon resistant features, but there are currently no

requirements on the reservation for radon resistant new

construction. Although new homes are also not being

built in large numbers, homes that are have yet to include radon resistant methodology. This may be contributed to many new homeowners not being able to afford

additional costs or they may have not just been aware of

radon.

In addition, 100% of the BRHA units have been tested,

but only half of private tribal homes have been tested.

Private homeowners can be difficult to coordinate with

and unfortunately has remained a challenge. Still the

Program has continued to address private homes and has

assisted one private homeowner with identifying proper

mitigation techniques to utilize and funding to support

project costs, when home was found with level 8 times

the USEPA action level.

The only way to know if your home has high indoor

radon concentrations is to test. If high levels are found

there are solutions. The Bad River Tribal Indoor Radon

Program would not be able to cover costs or install radon mitigation (reduction) systems, but would be able to

assist in locating contractors and possibly funds towards

installing them. If you have any questions please contact Daniel Wiggins, the Air Quality Technician at 715

-682-7123 or email at Air1@badriver-nsn.gov.