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 (2020)

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1

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

TEST YOUR HOME FOR RADON!

FREE RADON TESTING

From January to April 2021

Radon does cause lung cancer and causes 21,000 lung cancer fatalities annually. The

Tribal Air Office offers free radon testing and IAQ monitoring services every year. It is

easy and takes only a very short period of time to test your home for radon. Due to

COVID-19 we will not be entering homes this year and will require homeowners and

tenants to assist with placement and retrieval of test kits. The process is still simple, and

we are still here to help. If you would like to schedule testing please use the contact information below and set a date to test your home.

All those testing this year will be entered into raffle that will take place in April of

2021.

MIIGWECH!

Daniel Wiggins, Air Quality Technician

72682 Maple Street

Odanah, WI 54861

Phone: 715-979-1486

Email: Air1@badriver-nsn.gov

~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

Naomi Tillison, NRD Director and entire MNRD Staff

Special points of interest:

W

e have faced

many challenges over the last year –

some were familiar challenges and some were new. In

mid-March 2020, we reacted

to the COVID-19 global

pandemic and flipped NRD

to mostly remote work in

order to keep our employees,

families and community

safe. We were also faced

with reacting to the federal

administration’s numerous

initiatives to loosen environmental protections under

federal laws, such as the

Clean Water Act, in their

effort to allow industries to further pollute the water,

land, and air that we all depend on stay healthy. Despite

these and other challenges, the Mashkiiziibii Natural

Resources Department continued to strive towards our

mission to better protect and restore the natural resources for the betterment of both the current and future

generations. In 2020, we celebrated our 35th anniversary as a Department, and below are the highlights of

some of the many things that the hard working and dedicated MRND staff members accomplished in 2020 (in

no particular order as we’re proud of all of them):

1.

Manoomin Efforts. We

took steps to help protect

and restore manoomin,

even though our plans

changed due to COVID-19.

We supported the Town of

Sanborn’s efforts to adopt a

Slow No Wake Ordinance

in the spring of 2020; this

…Continued on page 4

• MNRD Top 20 Accomplishments of 2020

• EARLY ICE

• MNRD Staff Introductions

• Water Program Updates

• Forestry Updates

• POWTS Updates

And so much more!

Inside this issue:

town ordinance compliments the Tribe’s

ordinances and provides another layer of

protection for manoomin during the early

stages of growth. In the spring, we also

posted manoomin restoration signs at an

area in Beartrap Creek to curb boat traffic

to use the main channel for navigating

instead of driving through an area where

manoomin used to be present; read more

about this effort in our spring 2020 newsletter edition: http://www.badrivernsn.gov/wp-content/

uploads/2020/07/202007_CommonGround_S

pring.pdf

We also tried to improve the opening of

the manoomin harvest season in the

Sloughs with the support of our Wild Rice

Committee. Miigwech to our committee

members and NRD staff who helped with

these efforts ! Miigwech to our committee

Wood Smoke and Weather

Inversions

2

Water-Wetlands Regulatory

Program Updates

3

Top 20 Accomplishments of

2020

4-5

EARLY ICE

6

BIA Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative Monitoring Projects

7

MNRD Wildlife Tech Introduction

8

Traditional Ojibwemowin

9

Solar Powering Up!

11

Forestry Updates

13

POWTS Updates

14

Test Your Home For Radon!

16

Page 2

2

15

COMMON GROUND

Page 15

Wood Smoke and Weather Inversions

Nathan Kilger, Mashkiiziibii Air Quality Specialist

airquality@badriver-nsn.gov

19. Partnerships. MNRD continued to collaborate with partners (mostly

virtually) on a variety of issues and projects to protect and restore the Bad

River watershed and the Lake Superior basin. The Lake Superior Partnership (a bi-national partnership), the Lake Superior Collaborative (a regional partnership), and the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory

Council (WTCAC) are just a few of the partnerships that MNRD staff

participated in (mostly virtually).

W

ith cold weather slowly moving in this time of

year, weather conditions can combine with

smoke from wood stoves and industrial sources across the

region to create fine particulate pollution at times throughout the winter season. The Red Cliff Air Program Manager

noticed the first such episode around November 26th and

we started seeing a similar pattern on December 8th.

20. Building Department Capacity. MNRD has worked hard to maintain

and build Department capacity over the last year or so, including the creation of eight (8) new full-time positions: Water Regulatory Specialist,

Manoomin Oshkaabewis, Deputy Director, Deputy THPO, Land Records

In-Take Specialist, Wildlife Technician, Ornithology Specialist, and bakaan ingoji gaa-Ondaadag (Non-Local Beings) Program Manager. Please

stay tuned for additional positions as we continue to build the capacity

that we need to match our workload requirements.

This gives me a great reason to explain some of the weather

that contributes to these fine particulate pollution episodes the weather phenomenon is called an “inversion”. This is

one of those points where weather and air quality intersect.

Like most air pollution, inversions are usually invisible, but

there are tools we can use to identify when they are happening. Forecasting inversions are a bit harder, especially more

than a day into the future.

The lowest layer of the atmosphere is called the troposphere, this is the layer where weather occurs, and this layer

can be up to 50,000 feet high. As you rise up in this layer of

air the air gets colder and colder. The temperature outside

airplanes as you fly across the country is often -100°F at

flight height (I like watching the flight screen information

when I fly). Therefore, as everyone remembers from their

high school physics class, because a warm bubble of air is

less dense than the cooler air above it, air near the ground

usually wants to rise up through the atmosphere . This rising helps keep the atmosphere mixed up, and acts to

dilute air pollution. But

there are times when that

bubble cannot rise up.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our top 20 highlights of 2020,

and we’re excited to share more with you about the good

work the Mashkiiziibii NRD has been doing. We’re

looking forward to the

collaborations and

partnerships in 2021

and seeing what we

can learn and accomplish together. We

hope you take care of

Aki (Land), Nibi

(Water), and each

other!

Miigwech to Mashkiiziibii NRD staff for all your hard work and dedication!

Miigwech for the support of the Tribal Council and other Departments (Human

Resources, Accounting, Legal, and more) who helped support these efforts!

Miigwech to our partners and funders who helped support these efforrts!

An example skew-t plot that shows a strong inversion 2,500 feet

above the ground.

ple days, but sensitive population groups such as asthmatics

or people with other lung issues or diseases can start to feel

this level of air pollution. COVID-19 is one of these diseases that can be made worse by poor air quality.

These inversion pollution

events happen throughout

the winter, sometimes for a

day, but during unusual

periods can last up to a

week. The best way to tell

if smoke pollution is starting to cause air pollution

problems is to check the

WisconsinAQM app on

your phone or this statewide

web link: https://

airquality.wi.gov/home/map

If a warmer layer of air is at

some level of the atmosphere, the bubble rises up

and then stops when it hits

this different layer. The

warm layer can be close to

the ground, higher up, or

there can be several of these

at different heights. When

I wanted to say thank you to

the warm layer is close to

the Red Cliff Air Program

the ground, any wood

Manager for the inspiration

smoke and other air polluImage credit: Union Public Service Commission

for this article and for the

tion can’t rise up and stays

conversations we have concerning local air quality that imtrapped down at our level and we then breathe that pollupacts our respective Reservations and residents. If you’re a

tion.

science geek reading this article, do an internet search for

terms “skew-t plots” and “weather inversions”. If reading a

November 26th and December 8th were two inversions so

skew-t plot is something you’re comfortable with and you

far this winter. The air monitoring equipment in Odanah

want to try forecasting inversions, a search for “BUFKIT”

measured air quality at the “Moderate” level, usually not

will start you on your way down that rabbit hole.

enough to impact human health over several hours or a cou-

B

iindige (Come In) Megan Powless to the

THPO Wigamigong (Building)! Megan started her

new position as the THPO Assistant on October

5th (We stole her from the Health Department

Camp… ) We are glad to have her with the

THPO Team in the Mashkii Ziibii Natural Resources Department!

Weweni Boozhoo (Welcome) Megan!

Page 14

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3

COMMON GROUND

Page 3

POWTS Updates

I

ts been a tough year! All the delays/postponements due to the

Covid-19 pandemic. Although starting very late in the con-

struction season we managed to complete all of the “old work”

carried over from last year and even some new projects. Our tribal

POWTS Program is assisting #20 Bad River tribal members to plan

for future water and sewer work here at Bad River. They are in

various stages of the POWTS process some just filing their applications, others applying for leases and still others ready for work next

year. We also assist tribal members who are building off the reservation in other counties or states. POWTS is also assisting the Bad

River Tribe in other tribal projects such as the Bad River Wake

House, the “tiny homes” project, Fire Hall, Tribal storage buildings, and the tribal treatment and healing center. POWTS (Private

On-site Wastewater Treatment Systems) is open to all qualified

Bad River tribal members. Our program provides safe, modern,

water, and sewer services to tribal members who are building a new

home or setting up a trailer. IHS provides our tribe with funding to

own or have tribal leases before they are considered for funding.

Tribal members are allowed to access this type of IHS funding only

once. They will not do emergency repair or replacement work but

will repair or replace any POWTS work completed within a one

year period from the final inspection date, of work we have done

through Bad River POWTS. After this one year grace period it falls

on the homeowner to cover the cost of any repair/replacement work

Shea Schachameyer, Wetlands Specialist

wetlands@badriver-nsn.gov

T

he Water-Wetlands Regulatory Program had a big year and here's a

summary of our accomplishments:

49 NRD Project Reviews; 15 Wetland Deline-

needed. In the last four years the Ashland IHS Office was closed

ations & Concurrences; 28 Wetland & Water-

but has recently been re-opened and is fully staffed once again.

course Protection Ordinance determinations;

Their engineers and specialist provide technical/engineering advice

and assistance to our tribe. I encourage and advise that any tribal

13 Antidegradation Demonstration decisions;

member who is considering building to begin the POWTS applica-

and 6 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certifica-

tion process as early as possible as it can be a lengthy process. The

tion decisions. In June we were also able to

POWTS Office is located in the Chief Blackbird Center, MNRD.

hire Lorrie Salawater as our Water Regulatory

Our office phone number is 715-682-7123 ext. 1663, cell number is

715-685-8727, and e-mail is: powts@badriver-nsn.gov Office

Specialist, a new position for our program!

Wetlands Specialist, Shea Schachameyer, conducting field

work for one of the fifteen wetland delineations she

hours are M-F, 8:00am.- 4:30pm.

cover the cost of such services and has contracted with locally

Have a safe, Happy Holiday Season!!

owned contractors to do the work. IHS requires that all applicants

Gene Bigboy Jr.

Melis Arik, Water Resource Specialist ~ wqs@badriver-nsn.gov

T

he Tribe's Indigineous Arts and Sciences (IAS) Program is a collaboration

between the Education Department,

Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources Department, University of Wisconsin - Earth

Partnership, other Tribes, and other partners. The focus of the IAS Program is to

engage youth and educators in science,

math, and arts in a manner that infuses

culture and traditional knowledge and

makes it more relevant to tribal youth.

On November 30, 2020, the Education

Department and Mashkiiziibii Natural

Resources Department held a virtual

community forum to gather ideas from

the Bad River community to help deciding the focus of a research project meant to

benefit the Bad River Youth. The research

project will be implemented in 2021. A synthesis of the project ideas generated during

the November 30th community forum is as

follows: an illustrated botanical survey

(with field collection and with incorporation

of two languages) for medicinal purposes.

If you have questions, suggestions, or would

like to be involved in this research project,

please contact Stephanie Julian, Education

Director, at EducationDirector@badrivernsn.gov. We are hoping to finalize our research project concept in January and appreciate the input received in helping us develop

and implement this research project.

T

he Water Resources Pro-

gram didn't let COVID get in the

days and 177 individual

way of monitoring rivers,

visits to collect water

streams, wetlands or beaches.

samples. Weekly beach

Following guidelines to mask up

monitoring continued

and stay distanced, our team con-

with few interruptions to

ducted water quali-

make sure that

water was safe for swimming.

ty monitoring at 36

the community

Swimming advisories were

river and stream

could enjoy quali-

posted once in May for Joe

sites and four sites

ty beach time

Rose and Waverly beaches,

in the Sloughs, for

without worrying

and again in July for Joe Rose

a total of 43 field

about whether the

Beach.

Page 4

members, Russ Corbine Jr. (former Deputy Director),

Brad Bigboy (Chief Warden), and other NRD staff who

helped with these efforts.

2.

3.

4.

Virtual Teamwork. Despite all the challenges we have

faced in this unprecedented time of a pandemic, we continue to persevere as a Team. We have mastered the art

of using multiple virtual formats to come together and

meet as though we are sitting around the table in conference room – C. Parents on the team can discuss challenges of certain projects affecting the Tribe while calming

their children and ensuring they are also connected to

their virtual classrooms. We can walk through the woods

and listen to a webinar or meeting, or discuss an issue, at

the same time. This change that was once thought of as a

challenging obstacle to communication, has quickly become the norm for work that may not be lost once we can

come together.

Ishkonige Nawadide Solar Microgrid Project. The

Air Office is responsible for the oversight of the construction of the Ishkonige Nawadide Solar Project and

has successfully executed the project thus far and construction has commenced. Construction activities have

been delayed due to COVID but we continue to push

forward to reach the project’s goals on time. The Bad

River Tribe was awarded a US Department of Energy

grant in 2019 for the Ishkonige Nawadide (It Catches

Fire) Solar Microgrid Project. The project focused on

resiliency after the 2016 Flood and to prevent future

electrical disruptions at three critical facilities, the Health

& Wellness Center, the Waste Water Treatment Plant,

and the Administration Building. Through this project

the Tribe is installing over 500 kW of solar with over

1000 kWh of battery storage at each of the three tribal

facilities. The systems at the Health & Wellness Center

and the Waste Water Treatment Plant will offset the

5.

6.

entire facility electrical loads and offer a level of resiliency that will allow the facilities to remain in operation for

several weeks even if the main power lines fail.

-Learn more about this project on page 11.

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COMMON GROUND

Page 13

Ma’iingan Symposium. The

Wildlife Program

kicked off 2020

by hosting the

Mashkiiziibii

Ma’iingan Symposium in order

to bring together

tribal, state, and

federal governments as well as

community members such as

farmers in order

to discuss our

relationships with

Ma’iingan and to prepare for the federal delisting of the

gray wolf. With around 130 participants in this event,

Tribes reflected on the Ma’iingan delisting and hunts in the

early 2010s, federal and state biologists received new understandings of Anishinaabe knowledge and culture, and

farmers came away with new ideas to raise their livestock

while coexisting with carnivores .

-Learn more about ma’iingan

from our winter 2019-2020 and

summer 2020 newsletter editions:

http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/wpcontent/uploads/2020/10/2020Summer-Edition.pdf

Planting Over 50,000 Trees.

The Forestry Program partnered

with The Nature Conservancy on

a large tree planting effort

throughout the Reservation, planting over 50,000 trees. A

contracted crew planted 40,000 white pine and 2,500 silver

maple were in one day at a location off of Pine Flats Road.

-Learn more about this project in the Forestry article on

page 13.

Cultural Education Facility. We were finally heard to

utilize the old burned clinic and combine THPO and Education to create a Cultural Education facility. The THPO

pitched the idea to Tribal Council a year after the Clinic

initially burned and remained unused. Other MNRD programs will also be in the facility which emphasizes that

everything in Creation that we currently call natural resources, continue to be an integral part of our culture. We

are picking paint colors this week to be ready for the big

move in March 2021. The Community can look forward to

a prayer pole raising ceremony outside the building and

lifting of the eagle feather inside, as a component of the

Cultural Education Center Opening.

...continued on page 5...

By Gena Abramson, Bad River Forester ~ Forester@badriver-nsn.gov

A

s we progress closer to 2021, Bad

River Forestry looks to make some

great advancements in planning, planting, education, and management in the

coming year. A peek into the future

brings promise, while reflecting on the

past year brings community pride as

well as appreciation for all that we are

given. Even though 2020 was challenging, we were able to overcome obstacles

safely allowing us to make great strides

in forest management.

In the next year, Bad River’s Forestry

Program will continue to act purposefully to create a diverse and healthy

forest for the 7th generation and beyond. We have recently been promised

funds to create a silviculture guide that

will move our forest in a good direction.

Using the Tribe's Integrated Resources

Management Plan (IRMP) as a main

guide, harvest specifications that allow

more species to thrive will be made

standard. By increasing the number of

species and the plant and animal populations that they represent, we increase

forest health as well as

gathering opportunities

for our tribal members.

Just as we were able to

plant over 50,000 trees

in 2020, we hope to

plant that many more in

2021! We had 3 tribal

members work for the

Bad River Forestry Program planting seedlings and releasing

saplings from aspen competition this

past summer and fall. Carl Jensen, Erica Toman, and Tim Couture all did a

fantastic job of moving our forest into a

stronger and healthier one for the 7th

generation. We also had some help

from

Stephanie

Julian’s

tribal

youth

summer

program.

Close to a

dozen

young

men planted several

hundred

white cedar

(giizhikaatig) near the falls along the

Mashkiiziibii.

We hope to have the opportunity to work

with the youth again this next year. My

goal is to teach forestry skills and build

forestry’s capacity so that these young

men and women can work in our program

during summer breaks from college. It is

my hope that they will fall in love with

the forest and pursue nature-based careers.

Finally, increasing the sugarbush

(ziinzibaakwadwaatigoog) is a management goal for Bad River Forestry. The

Forestry Program is looking into funding

opportunities for aerial seed distribution

projects, hand seeding, seedling planting

projects, and harvests designed to increase the sugar maple

component of particular

forested parcels. Thank

you for supporting your

Bad River Forestry Program while we honor

Mother Earth and those

who have gone before

us.

If you have a recommendation that you feel is important to consider in planning our forest management,

please feel free to share it with me. As I

remind the youth when I have the privilege of working with them, “I work for

you and for those that come after you”.

11. Water Program Highlights. The Water Program had a big

year, including completing 15 Wetland Delineations & Con-

currences; 28 Wetland & Watercourse Protection Ordinance

determinations; 13 Antidegradation Demonstration decisions;

and 6 Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification decisions and

conducting monitoring of streams, wetlands, beaches. Learn

more about the Water Program’s accomplishments on page 7.

12. Wildlife Field Work. Kris and Noah Arbuckle consistently

helped protect and improve the Reservation through initiatives

including the control of buckthorn, monitoring for other nonlocal plant species (e.g., Phragmites), tracking Ma’iingan on

the reservation, and trapping out Amik in conflict areas. The

Wildlife Program collaborated with Food Sovereignty to utilize

the harvested Amik .

13. Tribe’s Emergency Response Team. MNRD continued to

support the Tribe’s emergency response team, including from

the beginning of the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was

insightful to see how the tribal government operates, and to be

involved in the planning process of how to keep the community safe during this trying time . Miigwech to the Tribe’s Emergency Response Teams’ hard work!

14. Conservation Enforcement Highlights. The Conservation

Wardens successfully trapped and relocated 12 bears this

spring and summer. It is a priority in these seasons to stay on

top of the bear problems within our community. We work hard

to keep everyone safe including the bears during these seasons.

2020 was also the first year we oversaw the off-reservation

registration station. Please note that our Wardens have a new

home; Bad River Maintenance Department completely renovated the firehall on Birch Hill and turned it into a new office

for the three wardens and a garage for all of our equipment.

The enforcement division has been bounced around and now

we have a permanent office and just recently moved in.

15. Fisheries Program Highlights. This year the Fisheries program was able to successfully run its normal operations amid

the initial outbreak of COVID-19. The walleye and perch

raised at the Tribal Hatchery were released into Kakagon, Bad,

and other local waterways to support the health of the Lake

12

5

Page 12

Page 5

Superior fisheries. During the annual fall Lake Trout

assessment, we caught a record number of Lake Trout in

MI-2 waters. This assessment data is important as it is

the foundation for evaluating the health of the Lake Superior fisheries.

16. Potato River Watershed Monitoring for Non-Point

Source Pollution. The Department received BIA GLRI

funding in 2019 to monitor the Potato River Watershed

for non-point source pollution (which are sediments,

nutrients, bacteria, and other things that runoff the landscape into our waters). In 2020 we successfully completed the procurement process to hire a contractor to develop and implement a monitoring plan for the watershed

with input from MNRD staff. Two rounds of sampling

were completed in 2020; a baseflow sampling event in

October and a runoff sampling event in November. Results from these two sampling events show (so far) that

while several sites seem to have moderate levels of nonpoint source contamination, the majority of sites have

very low detection of the pollutants of concern . Learn

more about our GLRI-funded monitoring efforts to protect Lake Superior on page 7.

7.

Project Reviews. With the advent of safer-from-home orders requiring the majority of MNRD staff to work from

home, staff had to transition to working on many joint files

in a cloud environment. One of the joint projects that all

programs in MNRD work on is reviewing proposed projects

within the boundaries of the Reservation and assessing them

for environmental impacts and whether any permitting needs

to be issued. In March, the MNRD successfully transitioned

this work into Microsoft Teams so that reviews by different

MNRD Programs could proceed even while not all staff

were in the office. In May, MNRD started hosting interDepartmental meeting to keep Tribal Projects on-track. In

2020 MNRD reviewed 66 project applications and have an

additional 7 to review going into 2021.

8.

Ambient Air Monitoring. Despite the challenges this year

brought, the Air Office maintained the long-term ambient air

monitoring

the Tribe

conducts as

part of the Air

Program’s

goals to protect human

and environmental health.

2020 marks

the second

full year of

atmospheric

ammonia sampling, 9 years of monitoring mercury levels in

tree leaves, 15 years of monitoring ground-level ozone, and

17 years of monitoring fine particulate pollution. These long

-term and uninterrupted data sets allow the Tribe to compare

the air quality here with National Standards, observe trends

that may indicate better or worse air quality over time, and

work on policy to protect the quality of the Reservation’s air.

The monitoring site in Odanah is one of 37 across Wisconsin

and the only one in this area of the state.

-Explore the ambient air quality data at the following website: https://airquality.wi.gov/report/SingleStationReport

17. Collaboration with Education Department on IAS

Program. In 2020, MNRD continued to support the

Tribe’s Indigenous Arts and Sciences (IAS) Program

through collaboration with the Education Department,

University of Wisconsin – Earth Partnership, and other

Tribes and partners. The Education Department lead our

summer youth program efforts, which was modified to

incorporate safety guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic . On November 30, 2020, the Education Department and MNRD held a virtual community forum to

gather ideas from the Bad River community to help deciding the focus of a research project meant to benefit the

Bad River Youth. Learn more about the research project

idea on page 14.

18. Supporting the Tribe’s 2017 decision on Enbridge

Line 5. In January 2017, the Tribal Council passed a

resolution to state that the Tribe would not be renewing

its interests in the rights of way across the Bad River

Reservation and to direct the removal of the Enbridge

Line 5 pipeline from the entire Bad River Watershed. In

2020, MNRD continued to provide technical support to

the Tribe on issues related to Enbridge Line 5 pipeline,

including monitoring, reviewing proposed projects, conducting outreach, and more.

Additional information can be found on our Threats and

Challenges webpage: http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/

natural-resources/threats/

...continued on page 15...

9.

COVID-Safe Outreach Events. Outreach accomplished a

successful Earth Day (The Covid-Safe Way) Event in April,

which consisted of 35 households pre-registering for event.

Once registered MNRD Outreach Coordinator delivered a

basket with items for household members to get out and

clean up the community while practicing safe social distancing. 3 lucky households won an outdoor activity prize for

participating. In addition to Earth Day, we also completed

other outreach activities including continuing issuing our

Department’s quarterly newsletter and celebrating Lake

Superior.

Read more in our Spring 2020 newsletter: http://www.badrivernsn.gov/wpcontent/

up-

loads/2020/07/202007_CommonGround_Spring.pdf

10. Land Acquisition. In July of 2020 and utilizing funds from

the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), Bad River Band

of Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa closed on over 400 acres

of woodland hunting and fishing grounds along Mashkiiziibii

(Bad River) and Cameron's Creek near the Falls of Mashkiiziibii. This project was jointly overseen by Mashkiiziibii

Natural Resources Department (GIS Program), Bad River Legal Department, and the Tribal Council Chairman .

Learn more about other land acquisition efforts in our winter

2019-2020 newsletter edition: http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/wp

-content/

up-

loads/2020/03/20192020_NRD_Newsletter_Winter.pdf

Continued on pg. 12

6

11

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Page 6

COMMON GROUND

EARLY ICE

Dan Wiggins, Air Quality Tech/ RADON ~ Air1@badriver-nsn.gov

A

s many community members

are noticing the Ishkonige

Nawadide Solar Microgrid

Project has kicked off, marking the

largest solar project the Tribe has executed thus far. The Bad River Tribe

was awarded a USDOE Grant in 2019

for the Ishkonige Nawadide Solar

Microgrid Project and focused on resiliency after the 2016 Flood and

while experiencing lengthy electrical

outages at crucial facilities, such as

the Health & Wellness Center

(H&WC) the Tribe’s community Clinic. The Tribe is currently partnered

with Faith Technologies for construction of project which is expected for

commissioning in late March of 2021.

Jacob Rodmaker, Fisheries Specialist

fisheries@badriver-nsn.gov

T

he weather is getting colder and ice is forming

on lakes and streams. It will be tempting to get out

on lakes early to start fishing before others. There

are many tips and tricks out there to get on to the

ice early, but here is my advice on how to stay safe

when going out on early ice.

1. Bring a friend or family member. If you bring

someone along, they should stay a safe distance

away, whether that is on shore, or a minimum of 10

feet away. In case you fall through they will be

there to help by throwing a long rope or calling for

help.

2. Suit up. Bring ice picks and wear a float suit or a

life jacket when checking first ice.

3. Know your different types of ice. Cloudy ice is

less safe than clear ice. Cloudy ice forms fast, trapping air pockets in the ice allowing the ice to fracture and cause bigger gaps in the ice. Clear ice

forms slower allowing the crystal latus to form

more uniform and stronger.

4. Check the ice first. Spud your way out to where

you want to fish before dragging/carrying your gear

because ice is not always uniform across a body of

water. Springs and currents can change how ice

may or may not form.

5. Changing conditions. On flowing bodies of water

ice conditions are always changing, check ice regularly when you are on them. On warmer days check

ice regularly too. If you notice ice conditions

changing, get off the ice.

6. If you don’t feel safe on the ice, don’t go out on

it. Nothing is worse than going somewhere that you

don’t feel safe. Fishing and other ice related activities are about having fun, and if you are uncomfortable, you aren’t having fun.

**The recommended minimum ice thickness for

walking on is 4 inches. Any less and your risk for

breaking through is much greater.**

What happens if you fall through the ice?

1. Stay calm. If you fall through the ice, panicking can only make matters

worse.

2. Catch your breath. After falling through the ice, your heart is going to

race and you are going to start breathing heavy. Catch your breath and get

your bearings.

3. Orient yourself to where you came from. Once you are pointing in

the direction you know there is ice that will support you, you can start

your self-rescue.

4. Pull yourself onto the ice. Since you are wearing a flotation device

you should be floating, start kicking your legs to push your body on to the

ice and used your arms and ice picks to pull yourself onto the ice.

5. Stay low. Army crawl your way back to safe ice or even land. This

movement may take the most energy, but it will keep your weight distributed over the largest surface area. Even though you may have walked over

this ice already, you never know how breaking ice elsewhere may have

affected that ice you were just on.

6. Get to warmth. Once you are safely off the ice stay warm by doing

jumping jacks or other exercises. If you happen to have spare clothes,

change clothes and get home so you can dry off completely and warm

yourself up in blankets.

Stay safe and have fun fishing, skating, ect.

Jacob Rodmaker, Fisheries Specialist

The Ishkonige Nawadide Project was not picked

randomly and was guided with both Strategic Energy Planning done in 2012 and 2017. In addition, the

Tribe used the newly adopted 2018 Emergency Preparedness Plan (EPP) to identify critical infrastructure that was affected by power outages and the

2016 Flood. With all the documents the team identified several buildings and scenarios for possible

solar projects and conducted several planning and

development meetings around solar and battery storage. Through the 2018 EPP the documents clearly

identify the Health & Wellness Center, Wastewater

Treatment Plant, and the Chief Blackbird Administration Building as critical infrastructure. The team

used this as the primary supporting documentation

for the buildings being chose.

Through this project the Tribe is installing over 500

kW of solar with over 1000 kWh of battery storage

at three tribal facilities: The Chief Blackbird Center,

Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP), and the

H&WC. The systems at the H&WC and the WWTP

will offset the entire facility electrical loads and

offer a level of resiliency if power goes out that can

last days if not weeks.

What is next? The Tribe has conducted strategic

long-term planning in November of 2019 and have

identified additional phases that would add to existing microgrids, along with the use of other renewables in other areas of the Tribe. Additional buildings

such as the new Head Start and Elderly are being

considered for additions to the microgrids in Phase 2

and has developed and application for additional USDOE

funding contribution.

The Tribe will continue to work with the community to

identify and accomplish energy goals, specifically those that

encourage cleaner energy. Strategic Long-Term Planning

Poster and document can be found online at:

Report: https://tinyurl.com/y6xl9gt7

Poster @: https://tinyurl.com/y5ffqnem_

If there are any questions about the current Ishkonige Nawadide Solar Project, Long-term Planning, or any other

renewable energy topics please feel free to reach out to

Daniel Wiggins Jr @ 715-979-1486 or email @

Air1@badriver-nsn.gov. Miigwech!

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7

Page 10

Page 7

COMMON GROUND

Jessica Strand, Environmental Specialist

es@badriver-nsn.gov

O

ver the course of the last

several years, the Mash-

kiiziibii Natural Resources Department

has managed to secure BIA GLRI grant

funding for several monitoring projects.

Despite COVID, we have managed to

work through getting some of the moni-

tion, or that

pollution

which runs

of the landscape into

water resources (as

compared to pollution that is discharged

quickly the water is moving at key

from a pipe, like at an industrial site).

points in the Bad River and Kakagon

We designed this study to better under-

Sloughs. However, we have addi-

stand where some of the NPS pollution

tional monitoring sensors that we

that we’re detecting downstream might

plan on placing out next year as

be coming from, in order to hopefully

weather allows. Data collected from

Potato River Watershed Non-Point

figure out how to develop partnerships

these sensors will be used to refine a

Source Monitoring

to address the issue in the future. Many

model to understand how water

of the sources of NPS pollution come

This project is briefly described in

moves into, out of, and within the

from failing septic systems, beaver

MNRD’s top 20 for 2020, but I wanted

Kakagon and Bad River Sloughs

ponds, runoff from agricultural fields,

to elaborate on some of the goals for the

Complex. Knowing how the water

and other sites. We’ll provide an update

project and the results we’ve received so

moves will help us understand how it

on what the results of the monitoring

far in the first two rounds of sampling.

carries pollutants and how those pol-

are showing us in a future newsletter.

lutants might be affecting the plants

toring projects started this year in a limited capacity. Though the this is just the

beginning of these projects, we wanted

to share some of the outcomes we are

expecting from these projects.

Essentially, we are completing monitoring at 12 sites within the Potato River

Hydrological and Biological Monitor-

Watershed, mostly on the mainstem from

ing of the Bad River and Kakagon

the headwaters of the watershed down to

Sloughs

the last road crossing at Potato River

Road on Reservation, but also on a few

key tributaries. We are monitoring for 10

different parameters, including total

Kjeldahl nitrogen, nitrate-nitrite, total

phosphorus, total suspended solids, E.

coli, total coliforms, temperature, dis-

Click Link to MNRD Online Directory

http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/natural-resources/

solved oxygen, pH, and conductivity.

The majority of these parameters help

identify non-point source (NPS) pollu-

and animals inhabiting the sloughs.

However, completing the modeling

and additional monitoring will be

done under another phase of the proThis project focuses on col-

ject, once funding is secured. We

lecting water level and biological data

plan on providing additional updates

in the Kakagon and Bad River Sloughs

on this project as we continue

in conjunction with the US Geological

through the different phases.

Society. This fall we were able to install

some of the monitoring sensors out at

the sloughs; these sensors monitor water level and pair nicely with some deployed USGS sensors that monitor how

The Department has obtained other

additional GLRI funding to complete

projects that support the restoration

and understanding of the Great Lake,

especially Lake Superior.

8

9

Page 8

Page 9

By: Suzi Smith, GIS Specialist ~ gis@badriver-nsn.gov

http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/careers/

http://www.badriver-nsn.gov/news/

Boozhoo,

My name is Kristopher Arbuckle, I'm the new

recreational equipments and water craft,please

MNRD Wildlife Tech, I'm 43yrs old,have 3

check and clean your equipment before enjoy-

children Jerome,Sedonnah,Oakley,with baby

ing our homelands. The Natural Resources

coming in July. Recently,engaged to Carissa

Aide job I worked for MNRD on the Slope18

DePerry.I'm a Bad River Tribal member, lived

site, helicopter site,meander inspections and

here all my life. I have a passion and love for

projects. Slope18 project was to cover a ex-

mother earth and the wildlife that live amongst

posed section of Line5 on the Denomie Creek

the reservation. I been working for the MNRD

tributary. Slope18 and helicopter sites been

taking them out to Long Island the bad

for little over 1.5 yrs,as LTE employee. Some of

restored and continues to be monitored on

river falls. I will continue to work to

the work I've done with MNRD are Wildlife

weekly visits,as well as the Bad River Mean-

protect our resources and wildlife on

Aide, Natural Resources Aide, Invasive Species.

der. My recent position was Wildlife Aide. My

the bad river. If you have any questions

Invasive species consists of identification of

job duties as Aide was to transport monitors to

about our wildlife program at MNRD

plants, the controlling of different species such

Long Island Chequmegon Point to monitor the

please feel free to give a call or email

as wild parsnip, giant hogweed, loose-

piping plover that nest their. Recovered a in-

myself Kristopher Arbuckle wildlife-

strife,buckthorn,phragmites,cattails. Invasive

jured eagle, that a tribal member found.

tech@badriver-nsn.gov or Abigail Fer-

Species are spread very easily and can over take

Marked and surveyed wood turtle habitat,

gus MNRD Specialist Abigail Fergus

wetland,ecosystem,and some can cause health

setting up trail camereas for wildlife, seen

wildlife@badriver-nsn.gov or MNRD

problems such as burns and skin irritation. A

Giimiiwam the collared wolf that lives on the

Dept. 715 682-7123

simple reminder to help stop the spread are

reservation, removing nuisance conflict bea-

Migwitch,

check your equipment when in the field and

vers,helping with numerous projects and de-

water. If you travel off the reservation with your

partments. Worked with the summer youths

KristopherArbuckle

W

hat have you done to support the Bad River Ojibwe language revitalization effort? It’s more than a question to

answer on a monthly programmatic report, it’s a challenge to the program and individual to contribute to a living

language and culture that are also precious resources as native to our region as the mitigoog (trees) and

waaswaashkeshiwag (deer). But what is a Toponym? Simply put, it is the name of a place. However, the study of place names

stretches back millenia to the very original people and beings who have called this place home. For the Lake Superior region, a

good place to get started learning about place names is the GLIFWC reference Gidakiiminaan. The full PDF text is available for

free online (https://www.glifwc.org/publications/pdf/Atlas.pdf), but there is a companion disc that is more interactive and includes

translations as well as voice recordings of the traditional toponyms in our area. Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources GIS has begun

compiling toponyms from multiple sources into a map-based database that includes traditional, English and translations for local

place names. Included with this article is a Mashkiiziibii Watershed map with traditional placenames for the major rivers and

streams that flow through Mashkiiziibiing and into Anishinaabeg-gichigami. Of course, the best way to learn about toponyms and

Ojibwemowin in general is in conversation with language speakers.