M a s h k i i z i i b i i N a t u r a l Re s o u r c e s (2024)

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M a s h k i i z i i b i i N a t u r a l Re s o u r c e s

(FALL)

By: Andrew Spychalla, Brownsfield Specialist - brownfields@badriver-nsn.gov

O

n July 23, 2024, the Bad River

Band hosted a significant emergency response training exercise focused on a hypothetical oil spill from Line 5. The event was a

collaborative effort involving various external

organizations, including individuals from federal, state, Tribal, and industry entities. The exercise had two primary objectives. The first was to

ensure the effective tracking and management of

resources and personnel on the Bad River Reservation, and the second was to enhance coordination, communication, and operational readiness

for all who were involved.

Special points of interest:

• New Staff Introduction

• Forestry Updates

• Weather Patterns and Air

Quality

• Manoomin Community Engagement

• Energy Program Update

• Non-local Beings Update

Photo Courtesy of MNRD

The training was divided into two distinct

groups to simulate different aspects of emergency response. The first group, the

Continued on page 7...

~MISSION STATEMENT~

Mashkiiziibii Natural

Resources Dep ar t ment

72682 Maple Street

PO Box 39

Odanah, WI, 54806

Phone: 715-682-7123

Fax: 715-682-7118

Email: NRDOutreach@badriver-nsn.gov

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 self-regulation in

the area of natural resource management.

We’re on the Web!

Visit www.badriver-nsn.gov

• Sign Up for NIXLE Alerts

Inside this issue:

Global Weather Patterns

related to Air Quality

2

N.O.R.M

3

Clean Energy Article

4-6

Emergency Response

7

Climate Change Specialist

Introduction

8

NIXLE Alerts Sign Up

9

Forestry Article

10

Non-Local Beings Update

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Summer Climate Summary

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Dan Powless, Manoomin Specialist - Manoomin@badriver-nsn.gov

The Manoomin Blessing feast took place

on August 6. 49 people attended which

included Tribal staff and members, along

with GLIFWC staff.

Bad River Community Wild Rice Camp

was held on August 19-20 at the newly

acquired Goslin Road property. I provid-

local boaters, with actual bundling exercises be-

ed an overview of the Manoomin Pro-

ing conducted. Members in attendance got to

gram activities with an emphasis on bun-

hear an Ojibwe perspective in the language about

dling techniques and practices to approx-

manoomin and stories in a historical perspective

imately 30 tribal members and other

of the sloughs from long time Ricers. A Q&A

Continued on page 11...

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COMMON GROUND

Global Weather Patterns Relate to Air Quality

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Nathan Kilger, Mashkiiziibii Air Quality Specialist - air1@badriver-nsn.gov

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Bridget Thronburg, Non-Local Beings Program Manager - nonlocalbeings@badriver-nsn.gov

eather and air

quality are close-

ly linked topics; each one affects the

he Non-Local Beings crew has been hard at work

this summer removing purple loosestrife, garlic

stop the spread of non-

mustard, and wild parsnip. Removing these spe-

local beings. This is

cies creates space for native vegetation to expand and in-

important because

crease in population size. This work is very difficult, and the

when non-local beings

Non-Local Beings Program is very thankful to have such a

are accidentally intro-

great crew this year!

duced into a body of wa-

A mobile boat wash station was purchased this summer and

other. As one example, drought can

will be available for use at boat launches on the reservation

increase fine particulate pollution

soon! This standalone unit offers a suite of self-service re-

locally (dust from roads and fields), as

sources, including an air blower, wet-dry vacuum, hand

well as increase the likelihood of

tools, and lights to help boaters remove, then dispose of,

wildfires farther away (wildfire

water, non-local beings, and debris – including leftover bait.

smoke can blanket entire regions

This unit allow boaters to keep their boats clean which will

ter, natural predators do

not exist to keep populations in check, and they

can quickly throw ecosystems out of balance by

overwhelming and destroying native species.

downwind of the fires). Additionally,

wildfire smoke a thousand miles away

from a wildfire can stabilize the atmosphere making it harder to form thunderstorms and in-

er patterns easier.

creases the chances of periods of dry conditions, even creat-

There is a global weather pattern that we have given the

ing drought conditions if the smoke hangs around.

nickname “El Nino”, and the opposite pattern has been

talked of issues and development of the Manoomin Steward-

Initial bundling and

That means that weather patterns are an important part of

called “La Nina”. The pattern was first noticed by fishermen

ship Plan. We also participated in the youth harvest event in

re-seeding took

any discussion about air quality, but those weather patterns

off the coast of Peru hundreds of years ago, so we went with

which 10 youth participated. WDIO TV Staff were present.

place in 2023. No-

also have other impacts and implications on the environ-

their name for it. The official title is El Nino Southern Os-

The Wild Rice committee had site visits on Aug 1,5, 12,16,

tably a small 1/4

ment around us. There are different types of weather pat-

cillation (ENSO), since it is a global pattern that spans the

and 21 which included the following

acre section of Ma-

terns, some are smaller and closer to home, while other pat-

entire southern Pacific Ocean but can affect the entire plan-

terns are more global and can influence weather for weeks

et.

and months at a time.

We can compare that pattern to the average annual tempera-

Openers:

•

noomin was reestablished across

August 14 open to the “Y” of Big Round and Bear

from the hatchery and

Trap Creek

we are following up

•

August 18 open to the “Y” before Wood Creek.

with an additional site

August 24 open Wood Creek

El Nino and La Nina seem to make the news headlines most

ture in the Ashland, WI area, since there have been tempera-

often, but there are other weather oscillations in different

ture records kept here in the area since 1894. The graph be-

parts of the world that are constantly in motion. Those

low shows the annual average temperature of the weather

weather patterns can enhance or offset each other and work

stations in the Ashland area on a red bar graph. The graph

•

together or against each other in complicated ways. A cou-

then calls out the 10 highest annual temperatures and the 10

AMI Consulting Engineers out of Superior,WI was hired to

stretch between the bridges was also sporadically reseeded

ple of the weather patterns that can influence our weather

lowest. We can then look up the historical El Nino Southern

do the Kakagon Headwaters Restoration Feasibility study.

for year 2 as well and these will be monitored in conjunc-

are the Arctic Oscillation, the North Atlantic Oscillation,

Oscillation weather pattern and see if we see a pattern.

We are gathering recent plant surveys and other relevant data

tion with the Wild Sage node monitoring device. STRONG

for them to evaluate and had for an initial meeting with

Manoomin Collective Project – Jordan Gurnoe informed us

Most of the lowest annual temperatures since 1894 in the

MNRD. Future Community engagement opportunities are

that they have completed their field monitoring for 2024.

ways of monitoring the patterns, and the increasing capabil-

area have been the La Nina part of the El Nino Southern

being planned.

ities of satellite technology is making the tracking of weath-

Oscillation pattern. With most of the highest annual temper-

and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation.

Often it can be hard to see the weather pattern, but there’s

atures since 1894 in the area have been during the El Nino

where the native inva-

sives plants were removed just up stream. The riverine

Manoomin Program

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Gena Abramson, Forestry Specialist - Forester@badriver-nsn.gov

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By Zakk Zander, Air Quality Technician - airqualitytech@badriver-nsn.gov

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oozhoo Mashkiiziibiing niiji!

e are all familiar with social norms,

treat others how you would want to be

treated, be respectful to your elders and so on. Today though, I’m talking about a different norm.

Much like social norms, they are around us and have

very real impacts on our everyday lives. This norm

is an acronym for Natural-Occurring Radioactive

Materials, which the EPA defines as “found naturally in the Earth (primordial radionuclides) and in the

atmosphere (cosmogenic radionuclides)”. Primordial radionuclides are the ones most folks would be

familiar with are uranium, radium, thorium and potassium. The name primordial radionuclides just

mean they were around before the Earth was formed.

All we’ll say about cosmogenic radionuclides is that

they form when a cosmic ray hits a particle in the

upper atmosphere.

While the Birch Hill Red Pine Chipping Project is

winding down, several other forestry projects are

gearing up! Bad River’s Forestry Program is always working

to create a better forest for you as well as the 7th generation.

We’ve recently been informed that we will be receiving a

grant from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

which will help us remove unwanted and potentially hazardous trees from community yards. In their place, we will be

planting food or medicine trees, such as plum, elderberry,

cedar (giizhik), or others.

That same grant will help us replace potential hazard trees

at the Powwow Grounds. Unfortunately, there are some

dead or dying aspen as well as many ash that are showing

signs of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) infestation.

EAB comes through areas and kills all ash trees. Some die

sooner than others, but it generally takes 2-5 years from

beetle contact until mortality occurs. Ashland County was one of

the last of Wisconsin’s 72 counties all of which now have confirmed EAB presence.

Our grant calls for the utilization of those ash through firewood

processing which will allow us to pay a tribal member to do that

work. In their place at the Pow Wow G rounds, we are planning

to plant silver maple (Acer saccharinum) (Zhooniyaa

aaninaatig).Silver maple are fast growing and will provide

shade for a couple of centuries if we protect them from damage.

They can also be tapped for sap in late winter.

Additionally, we will be starting to “release” young white pine

trees after the Birch Hill project is completed. This release work

involves cutting away the trees (aspen, mainly) surrounding

these young white pine. The result is more sunlight, soil nutrients, soil moisture, and air flow around the seedling or sapling.

Once of our goals in the Integrated Resource Management Plan (IRMP, 2001) is to increase the pine component across the Bad River landscape. This work

nurtures pine and reduces the influence of our overpopulated aspen.

Please let us know if you ever have any questions or

concerns about your yard trees or the Bad River Forest. We appreciate getting to know you better!

Forester@badriver-nsn.gov , Foresttech@badrivernsn.gov , 715-685-8929, or Chief Blackbird Center

ext.1563.

Happiest of Holidays to all Bad River Community

Members!!

To the left:

Healthy young

white pine seedling

To the right:

Mature white

pine towering

over the forest

connecting Aki

miinawaa

Giizhig (earth

and sky)

Silver Maple

Bringing this back to the ground, the Lake Superior

basin sits atop a failed rift valley. Most of the rocks

that make up the mid content rift (MCR) are volcanic with some sandstone underlaying the MCR. Some

of those rocks, the granites and the Jacobsville sandstone, carry naturally higher levels of uranium and

radium. At this point if you are still reading this

you’ll probably be thinking, “great thanks for the

jargon but, why does this matter to me?” Great question, well three of the NORMs I briefly talked about

turning into radon. Uranium and thorium both eventually* turn into radium which then shortly** turns

into radon. Radon is not one of the primordial radionuclides due to its short half-life of just under 4

days. Radon, as folks may be aware, is a radioactive

gas that moves up from the bedrock through the soil

and into your home. NORMs and radon can also

pose an issue for groundwater. Water moving

through and around the rocks containing NORMS

can easily pick them up and transport them to the

well . This is the main way that radon ends up in

your drinking water. Some of you may now be concerned that you have contaminated well water and

there is the chance, but, you do not know unless you

test it. There are state and federal regulations that

limit the amount of NORMs in community wells.

Wells that are put in through Bad Rivers POWTS

program are also tested for these contaminates.

If you have concerns about your private well, please

reach out to me and I can try and answer your questions. I can conduct radon in water testing, which

could be used as an indicator for NORM contamination. The Wisconsin state lab of hygiene can also be

NORMs at Morgan falls contribute to higher than average

outdoor radon concentrations. It is typical to have anywhere

from 7-30 counts per minute (CPM)

*Eventually in this case means tens thousands of years

**Shortly means only a couple thousand years

contacted for NORM testing if folks would prefer to do it

themselves. They can be reached at 800-442-4618 Monday

through Friday 7:45-4:30. 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 Zakk Zander 715 -6827123x1553 or at airquailitytech@badriver-nsn.gov

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COMMON GROUND

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part of the pattern. A couple of the

Deep South of the USA, eastern Africa.

return in the fall of 2024 and remain in

annual extremes have been neither El

An interesting part of this graph is that

place throughout the Northern Hemi-

Nino or La Nina, and a couple have

there are more years above the blue

sphere winter. Typically, we see a cool-

been during a transition from La Nina

average line in the last 30 years. This is

er and wetter weather pattern with La

to El Nino.

where more research can help answer

Nina in place. The winter of 2021/2022

So, some of the variability we see in

questions like: Are these warmer years

was a La Nina winter, and we saw about

the local weather is driven by global

the result of El Nino? Are El Nino

90 inches of snow that winter. The win-

patterns. We do know that our odds of

events happening more often, and then

ter of 2022/2023 was another La Nina

a cool and wet winter increase during

the El Nino events are producing

winter, and we saw 146 inches of snow

La Nina winters. We also know that

warmer years? Is something pushing El

that winter. While the winter of

we’re more likely here to have a

Nino to happen more often (are ocean

2023/2024 was an El Nino winter and

warmer and drier summer during an El

surface temperatures changing and that

we only had 32 inches of snow, typical

Nino. Different parts of the globe also

is allowing El Nino to persist longer

of an El Nino winter.

see impacts, some are severe: drought

and more often?) or are El Nino events

But if the future holds more global El

and crop failures are common during

producing other effects (perhaps drier

Nino events, these winters that lack

an El Nino in parts of South America,

conditions are allowing more/bigger

snowfall may become more and more

Australia, and southern Africa, while

wildfires, which produce more smoke,

common, leading to impacts on river

La Nina can help create a very active

which create a feedback loop of pro-

and lake levels, wildfire risk, and stress

hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean

moting more drought?)

on forests, crops, and wildlife.

and droughts increase in Chile, the

We’re expecting a La Nina pattern to

Bella Wabindato, Climate Change Specialist - climate@badriver-nsn.gov

Boozhoo! My name is Bella Wabindato and

I’m the new Climate Change Specialist. I’m

partment, to the looming threat of

from Bad River but recently graduated from the

climate change in Bad River. If you

University of Redlands in the LA area with a

have any questions, concerns, or

biology degree. This is my first job with a col-

ideas please feel free to reach out to

lege degree, but I’m looking forward to being

me at climate@badriver-nsn.gov

of service to my community. In my spare time I

enjoy reading, watching musicals, and learning

French. I love to travel and my most recent

expedition brought me to Scotland, France, and

Italy.

I’m excited to bring some fresh perspective,

with the Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources de-

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COMMON GROUND

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COMMON GROUND

Photo Courtesy of US EPA

Unified Command (UC) team, convened at the Casino’s conference room. This group, composed of key decision-makers,

engaged in discussions on how to handle the hypothetical spill.

Their focus was on developing effective strategies and making

high-level decisions regarding the response.

Simultaneously, the second group, the response team, was stationed in the field near the Bad River Powwow grounds. This

hands-on group, which included Enbridge staff and contractors,

undertook the task of deploying boom across the river. Their

goal was to simulate the containment of oil in a real spill scenario, testing the practical application of response tactics.

The exercise revealed several key insights. The field conditions

and the timing of events facilitated smooth check-in and checkout processes for both resources and personnel. Effective communication between the UC team and the field responders was

noted, contributing to a well-coordinated effort. The deployment of boom was deemed acceptable under the day’s conditions, though it was recognized that real-life scenarios would

present more complex challenges, necessitating real-time adjustments to equipment and strategies.

A crucial element of the exercise was the control point at the

Powwow grounds, where boom deployment was considered

critically important. This control point is positioned as a strategic location just before Lake Superior, underscoring the need

for timely notifications and effective management of spill containment.

Feedback from the exercise participants highlighted several

areas for improvement. While communication between federal,

state, Tribal, and industry was generally positive, some federal

staff noted the need for heightened sensitivity to control points

and response strategies. Incorporating community input into response strategies, having access to comprehensive response plans,

ensuring staff are trained in situations where hazardous substances

are present, and understanding available resources were also identified as crucial takeaways.

External participants also emphasized the importance of communication, planning, and realistic training exercises. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) staff stressed the need for early

assignment of leadership roles and effective information sharing,

particularly concerning cultural and sensitive locations. Overall,

the exercise demonstrated the Band’s commitment to enhancing

preparedness for oil spill incidents and protecting vital resources.

It served as a valuable opportunity to refine strategies, improve

coordination, and strengthen the collective ability to respond effectively to potential emergencies.