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 (2025)

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

(SUMMER)

Tyrease James TJ, Forestry Technician – foresttech@badriver-nsn.gov

O

~MISSION STATEMENT~

Mashkiiziibii Natural

Resources Dep ar t ment

72682 Maple Street

PO Box 39

Odanah, WI, 54806

Phone: 715-685-7840 - 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.

Were on the Web!

Visit www.badriver-nsn.gov

n Monday June 9,

2025, it was

brought to our attention that

the Forestry skid steer had

been vandalized on Birch Hill.

Upon inspecting the damage to

the skid steer, we found the

coolant reservoir, hydraulic oil

reservoir, fuel tank, and Diesel

Exhaust Fluid (DEF) tank were

all filled with rocks, sticks, and

sand respectively. There were

parts of the skid steer that were

missing like the coolant cap and

the windshield wiper. The repairs

needed for the skid steer cost

$16,000 to get all tanks replaced,

refilled and missing parts replaced.

Special points of interest:

• Equipment Vandalized

• Meet the Plover Monitors

• Energy Program Updates

• Lake Superior Days Celebration

• Beach ATV Closure

• New MNRD Staff

Missing Windshield Wiper Arm

Right Photo: Coolant reservoir filled with sticks and

rocks. Left Photo: Remnants of debris around fuel intake

For any future comments or

questions we can be contacted

at Forester@badriver-nsn.gov or

foresttech@badriver-nsn.gov or

715-685- 8929 or 715-682-7123

extension 1563

Forestry skid steer after vandalization

The Forestry Program uses the skid

steer in various projects that have

taken place around Birch Hill from

moving tree tops and logs away

from homes and mulching the

debris with different attachments.

It’s unfortunate that someone has

damaged our equipment, keeping

us from completing the project.

Needless to say, the pine thinning

clean-up and debris clean-up will

stop due to this event.

• Updated Registration Station

Flier

Inside this issue:

Burn Barrels and Burning

Trash

2

Non-Local Beings

Program Update

3

Energy Program Update

4

Keeping our Summer

Clean and Safe

5

Piping Plover Project &

Introductions

6

BEACH ATV CLOSURE

7

NIXLE Alerts Sign Up

8

Lake Superior Days

9

Celebration Save The Date

Coolant reservoir with missing cap

Above is a diagram of the parts that had debris in

the components: Yellow is Hydraulic oil, Orange is

Coolant, Green is Fuel tank, Blue is DEF

Updated Registration

Station Flier

10

New MNRD Team

Members

11

Spring Climate Summary

12

Page 2

COMMON GROUND

Burn Barrels and Burning Trash

Zakk Zander, Air Quality Technicien - AirQualityTech@badriver-nsn.gov

I

Burn barrels used to be a popular method of

reducing the volume of household trash, disposing of cardboard boxes, packaging materials, and many other miscellaneous items.

Although you do not see as many around as

you used to, they are still present in rural

communities in northern Wisconsin. Burning

of some household wastes continues to be a

method of disposal for a significant part of the

population. Polluting the soil and water in

your own backyard, that’s what’s happening

when you fire up a burning barrel.

The tradition of putting a match to the family

garbage has been around for generations, so

what’s the big deal? Until a few decades ago,

it wasn’t so dangerous to your health because

most of the things burned were made of paper

and wood, and gave off smoke and ash. This

is not the case anymore. Modern household

products and packaging materials contain a

mix of plastics and other synthetics that release cancer-causing chemicals and other

toxins when burned. Packaging for fast food

and convenience items such as containers for

frozen pizzas, microwave dinner, beverages,

may seem harmless, but when burned they

can give off toxic emissions. These emissions

H

M

y name is Russell “Russ” Corbine Jr. I am the new

Deputy Director of the Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources

Department (MNRD). Here are a few things about me:

t has been a while since the Bad

River Open Burning, Burn Barrel, and Fire Prevention Ordinance has been written about. So here is

reminder to everyone that Bad River

burning permits are required within the

boundary of the Bad River Reservation.

These permits are free and available by

coming into the Bad River Natural Resource Department. (Bad River Conservation Code §3.24 enacted by Tribal Council

in 2002)

I recently came across an article written

by Mr. Ralph Dashner about burning garbage and would like to take this opportunity to republish his words.

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•

I am from Bad River and grew up in Diaperville.

•

I joined the U.S. Army in 1999 and served a little over

20 years before retiring in 2019. I participated in several

combat deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. I have also

spent a considerable amount of time serving in other foreign duty locations like

South Korea.

•

I served as the Deputy Director of MNRD from July 2020 to December 2020

before pursuing a career with the U.S. Army as a Dept. of Army Civilian employee

in South Korea.

•

I served as an Organizational Consultant for the Commander of US Army

Forces-Korea located in Camp Humphreys, South Korea from January 2021 to

August 2024.

•

may include PCB’s, dioxins, arsenic, styrene, formaldehyde, and that’s just a small

part of what is released.

Household wastes placed in burn barrels,

fireplaces, and similar devices burn at temperatures that rarely exceed 500 degrees

Fahrenheit. A municipal garbage incinerator by comparison will operate at temperatures near 2200 degrees to ensure complete

combustion of refuse and more of the pollutants. Because burn barrels operate at

lower temperatures and lack filtration,

they emit seventeen times as much dioxin

and forty times as much ash per pound of

garbage as an incinerator.

Burn barrels give off high levels of carbon

monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide,

and metals such as lead, arsenic, mercury,

barium, chromium, and cadmium. All of

these can cause a wide variety of health

problems. They need not be directly inhaled form the smoke; some of these toxins

remain in the immediate vicinity and the

area downwind of the barrel for years.

This accumulation exposes you, your family, neighbors, and future generations to

ever increasing levels of hazardous substances.

Here are some alternatives to burning trash: Reduce waste by cutting

down on what you buy. Buy in bulk

when possible and avoid choosing

products that are over packaged.

Reuse, sell, or give away items you

no longer need. Compost leaves,

grass, and weeds. Take garbage

and other unrecyclable trash to the

Solid Waste Transfer Site. Recycle!

You can make a difference.

The Bad River Open Burning,

Burn Barrel, and Fire Prevention Ordinance prohibits the

burning of any trash or items that

are recyclable. Also prohibited

are any items containing plastics,

rubber, oils, or wood coated in

stain or paint. A full list of prohibited items, along with more Ordinance information, can be found

on the Bad River website at

(shortened URL): https://

www.badriver-nsn.gov/burnordinance/

A valid permit must be in your

hand if you are burning within

the Reservation boundary.

I returned from South Korea last August and have been consulting for the

Adjutant General of the Minnesota Army National Guard which is headquartered in

St. Paul, MN.

My leadership philosophy is centered around four principles: Empowerment –

empower those around you, Accountability – hold myself and others accountable,

Set the example – give your best effort and have the personal courage to do what

is right, even when no one is looking & Humility – be humble and know when to

ask for help.

If you see me out and about, please say hello. I look forward to meeting and

working with you as we help the Tribe and community reach our goals. Thank you

and have a great day!

Email: NRDeputy@badriver-nsn.gov

My name is Emma Parisien, I’m from Bad

River and this is my 3rd year back working as a

Natural Resources Aide for the Non-Local Beings Program. I love working outdoors and

helping the community with all of the invasive

species we work with. I’m excited to continue

working for natural resources this summer.

ello, my name is Madeline,

and I am Bad River’s energy

program intern for two

months. I’m happy to be here learning

about the grid, solar, governmental structures and energy! I’m a geology major

interested in renewable energy such as

geothermal, and this is a great introduction to the different interconnections and

utility aspects of introducing new power

sources to the grid. In my free time I enjoy lapidary, canoeing and foraging.

M

y name is Craig Bigboy and I was born and raised

here in Bad River. I have been working with the Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources Department off

and on over the years,

but for the past 2-3

years I have been working for the Non-Local

Beings crew from the

Spring to the Fall. I

enjoy sports and being

outdoors.

M

y name is Dalton Stone and I work

with the Non-Local Beings Program. This is

my second year with the Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources Department. I like to hunt,

fish, and work with non-local beings.

Click Link>> https://www.badriver-nsn.gov/careers/

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COMMON GROUND

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

T

he non-local beings summer crew has been working hard this summer to

remove buckthorn, garlic mustard,

non-local honeysuckle, and wild

parsnip. The map above shows areas where removal work has taken

place so far this summer. If you

have any concerns about non-local

beings on your property or want to

report a population of non-local beings please contact nonlocalbeings@badriver-nsn.gov or 715-9791510.

On June 26th non-local beings staff

and others attended a training to

learn how to operate the Mobitrac

harvester. The Mobitrac harvester is

an amphibious machine that was

previously purchased by the Tribe.

It has different attachments that allow it to cut and collect vegetation.

We had a great day and are very

thankful to have had the opportunity

to receive this training. Going forward

we hope to use the harvester in future

projects to restore and maintain balance between non-local beings, native

vegetation, and manoomin in the

Sloughs.

We are still looking to hire a natural

resources aide to work as a watercraft

inspector at the boat launches on the

reservation; if you or anyone

you know is interested, you can

find the job posting on the Bad

River website under “Careers.”

We hope everyone is having a

great summer, check back in the

Fall for another update!

Page 4

COMMON GROUND

Mashkiiziibii Manoomin Youth Initiative

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

B

ad River was awarded the Mashkiiziibii Manoomin Youth

Initiative grant submitted to the BIA under the Great Lakes

Restoration Initiative youth sub-focus in 2024 .One part of the

Initiative is to create a Youth Manoomin Committee partially

modeled after Bad River’s Wild Rice Committee. Through this

committee, the self-selected youth will learn about manoomin

from elders and knowledge holders to steward the ecology and

productivity of the Kakagon Sloughs for the next seven generations. Specifically, David Nevala, Nathanael Secor and Dan

Powless will work with the youth on regular intervals in conjunction with the Wild Rice Committee to understand manoomin

throughout the plant’s life cycle, learn the Ojibwemowin of Manoominikewin with Ojibwemowin speakers, learn best practices

for harvesting and determining ripeness, engage in reseeding

and other restoration efforts, travel to other communities to

learn from active restoration efforts as well as to network with

other ricers and knowledge holders, learn how to practice observation in the field, and contribute to ongoing monitoring projects

The first field session began with Jordan Gurnoe, NWU grad

student providing a presentation to the YouthWRC about sensor

field monitoring and data capture processes.

Bad River Staff and students participated in the manoomin plot

study and next step of correlating phenologic data with manoomin.

Students and staff attended the State/ Tribal Manoomin committee meeting at LDF on 6-18-25. The youth were introduced

and spoken of as our future who will be sitting at the table.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT – Current activities

Slow No Wake buoys were deployed on 6-10-25.

Rice has been in floating leaf stage for a week or so and now

transitioning to emergent cycle. (photos taken 6-12- 25)

While out assessing the manoomin life cycles a carp infestation was witnessed in big round and NE Slough. This has previously been observed during the floating leaf stages, we’ll be

following up on this issue.

Provided a general overview of the Head Water Restoration

Planning Project at the Elderly Building. 20 elders in attendance. One elder discussed how the rice was when he harvested as a young man and believes the carp have created a decline in the rice as well. He stopped ricing because the rice

had dwindled to very sparse conditions.

Another elder showed up at the hatchery who believes we

should go back to the original rice opener of August 25 of not

so long ago. He stated we need to change our tactics of just

checking the rice on the river edge to going out into the bed or

in ten years it could be gone. He talked of how we need to use

our tabacco in that it comes from the heart when addressing

the rice. He remembers the old ladies were still doing these

things. He is very concerned and wants to be involved in the

management. It’s good to hear elders coming out and talking

about the rice with concern.

Manoomin Program

By Bella Wabindato, Energy Coordinator- energycoordinator@badriver-nsn.gov

I

n the Tribal energy world, Bad River is

well known for being a pioneer in renewable energy. We have 3 microgrids, 42 residential

solar systems, some facility solar systems and 23

solar streetlights. In the near future, we will

install six private electric vehicle charging stations, lease an electrical vehicle fleet, install a

public electric vehicle charging station, add

more residential solar, audit homes for energy

efficiency, and install another microgrid. Because of this, we are a prominent stopping point

for other organizations or Tribes to look at Tribal renewable energy. In June, we have had the

Ho-Chunk Nation’s energy program manager

come tour (picture shown above), as well as

Wisconsin’s Office of Sustainability and

Clean Energy later in the month. In July, we

can look forward to hosting the Wisconsin

Economic Development Corporation and

National Renewable Energy Laboratory. If

you’re ever curious and would like to tour,

please reach out to the energy program manager at energycoordinator@badriver-nsn.gov.

We would love to show anyone and everyone

what the energy program is all about.

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By: Andrew Spychalla, MNRD Brownfield Program - brownfields@badriver-nsn.gov

A

s we enjoy the sunshine

and take part in summer

activities - whether it's

boating, barbecuing, camping, or DIY

home projects - let’s all do our part to

protect our environment and local

waterways.

Preventing spills and pollution:

To prevent accidental releases of hazardous or toxic chemicals this summer, make sure to: use and store

fuels, paints, cleaners, and other

chemicals responsibly. Never dispose

of waste - liquid or solid - on the

ground or down storm drains. Keep

vehicles, boats, and equipment wellmaintained to avoid leaks of oil, gas,

or other fluids. And, when attending

outdoor gatherings, secure trash and

keep recyclables and food waste contained. Simple things will prevent the

majority of accidents from occurring

during day-to-day activities.

If you see a spill, report it:

2. Report it to the appropriate local

If there is an obvious spill or a noticeable sheen – specifically in waterways –

you can always let the MNRD Brownfield Program know. Sometimes, a

sheen on the water could be from biological sources. A good trick is to poke

the center of the sheen with a stick; if it

reforms into one continuous blob,

there is a good chance it is actually a

petroleum product. If it disperses and

floats in different directions without

coming together again, it is likely from

a natural source. If there is a spill of

hazardous, toxic, or otherwise unnatural substances, even if it is small, it can

cause big problems for our soil, rivers,

and wildlife. If you witness or are involved in a spill or release of a potentially harmful substance:

environmental authority immediately time matters for proper cleanup and

environmental protection.

Stay clear of hazardous areas and follow all instructions from emergency or

cleanup crews if they are on site.

By staying alert and responsible, we

can keep our communities clean, our

water safe, and our environment thriving all summer long. If there are any

questions about spill prevention, feel

free to contact me at brownfields@badriver-nsn.gov. Miigwech.

1. Act quickly but safely to contain it,

if possible.

By Madeline, Inaakidese Intern

I

f you live or have been around the

Birch Hill community you’ve probably seen some new streetlights

placed throughout the area. These solar

powered streetlights are new additions to

the existing streetlights that bring improved visibility, safety and resilience to

the neighborhood. When the power goes

out these lights will still be shining on as

they are 100% solar powered. There are

currently 23 of these solar powered streetlights up and running, with efficient LEDs

that have a 20-year lifespan before having

to be replaced and have no operating

costs. The energy program also heard

community concerns about the placement of the concrete bases and has addressed this with reflective tape around

the concrete bases. This project was

funded in full by a grant with the Tribal

Solar Accelerator Fund. The energy

program extends their thanks to all who

have made this project possible

Page 6

COMMON GROUND

2025 Piping Plover Project

Jakob Wohlford, Ornithology Specialist - ornithology@badriver-nsn.gov

H

istory was made! In the 52 years of

monitoring the Great Lakes Piping

Plovers at Chequamegon Point 2025 has set

the record for the most nests in a season at seven nests with 28 total eggs. Once again, this

year we have a nest that resides on the Bad

River Mouth. The nest at the mouth was one of

the most successful nests last year and is once

again this year thus far! While we all love driving our ATV’s it is important to have the ATV

closure at the Bad River Mouth in

place until August 15th or once the

last chick is gone to give the species

the best chance of survival.

ample being X, L: Of, G, Y, who we gave the name Extra

Large Guy. These combinations are unique to each bird to

help with monitoring while on Chequamegon Point and at

their wintering grounds. We are planning on banding chicks

during early July after hatching.

If you find yourself out near any of the nests this summer feel

free to ask our monitors any questions you may have. Please

respect these endangered birds and the space that they

need, so hopefully we can see Extra Large Guy back here

next year!

It would be hard to know who somebody is if they didn’t have a name

right? We think the same is true for

Piping Plovers! This year we have

been lucky enough to have successful

adult banding for 8 of 13 adults that

needed adult combos, with one ex-

<<<Piping Plover receiving adult bands

H

H

ello,

My Name is Aidan Doherty. I was born in Missouri and grew up in central Wisconsin. I recently graduated from the University of WisconsinSuperior with a major in biology and a minor in

Geographic Information Systems. For fun, I

enjoy looking for agates, playing cards, thrifting, being outdoors, working with leather, playing guitar, and running. While in college, I ran

twelve successful seasons as a collegiate distance runner. I just completed my first

marathon and plan to continue running. One of

my favorite fun facts to share is that I built an electric guitar completely

from scratch. Working as a piping plover monitor has allowed me to

apply my experience to something I'm truly passionate about.

i,

I am Rowan Gibson, I’m

enthused to once again be one of the

Piping Plover monitors this summer.

This is my second summer working

this position. It’s so fun! I’m from

Madison, WI, but have been living

in Ashland for the past three years

attending Northland College. I love

seeing and learning about all wild

creatures and plants, and especially

birds (I’ve been a huge birder since

I was 8), so I’m very happy to be

working on Chequamegon Point for

the Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources Department.

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COMMON GROUND