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)

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

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

Special points of interest:

I

•

•

MNRD Deputy Director

Minigrid Project Manager

•

Energy Assistant

•

Lease Specialist

**To See the Tribe’s hiring incentives along with other opportunities, Full Job Descriptions, and Printable Applications

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

~MISSION STATEMENT~

Mashkiiziibii Natural

Resources Depar tment

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.

Were on the Web!

Visit www.badriver-nsn.gov

n 2024, the Brownfield Program was made aware of a few

incidents of spilled or released

hazardous materials on the Bad

River Reservation. Any incident

of hazardous substances or materials being spilled or released

can have a negative effect on the

surface water, groundwater,

soils, vegetation, and uses of a

landscape that is mostly pristine

and natural. Some more common examples of substances that

get spilled include oils, hydraulic fluids, and gas associated

with the breakdown or malfunc- MNRD Staff Nick Blanchard (pictured) and Kristen Vensland (photographer) managing a spill at

Elm Hoist Bridge.

tion of vehicles, machinery, or

equipment, or an accident or user

to spills. These partners who reboth can be accomplished by the

error. Effects of these releases can

spond to these incidents are very

Brownfield Program.

cause contamination of many difgood at offering assistance and

ferent kinds but usually result in

providing resources for any clean- If one was out boating on Lake

detriment to the landscape and its

up that is required. In and around

Superior, ricing in the Sloughs, or

resources.

the Bad River Reservation, spills

driving down the highway and saw

The Mashkiiziibii Natural Recan be classified as minor or maa large spreading oil spill, this

sources Department is connected

jor. These two categories come

would obviously be a major incident

with many local, state, and federal

with two different responses, but

with risk to human life. The correct

agencies whose focus is to respond

...continued on page 4...

started in the climate change program at the end

of August, and there has been quite some learning

and progress these past few months. To start off

with, our Oak Point cleanup project has now moved

into the restoration phase. The soil samples taken

over the summer showed no exceedance of action

levels by both EPA and Bad River standards. This

puts the Tribe in a great position to start restoration

efforts in the area. With our Graveyard Creek resto-

• Indigenous Arts & Sciences

(IAS) Update

• Forestry Updates

• MNRD Bi-Annual Open House

• Radon Update

• Climate Change Update

• Job Opportunities

Inside this issue:

2nd Annual Brain-tan

Workshop

2

USGS Stream Gauges in

the Bad River Watershed

3

Biboon Forestry Updates

4

Introductions

5

Open House Save the Date

Flier

6

Forestry Public Notice

8

IAS Summer Youth Recap

9

Several Years of Wildfire

Smoke

10

Manoomin Program Updates

11

Non-Local Beings Program 12

Accomplishments

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

I

• Natural Resources New hires

ration project, we are still in the

sampling phase. This will give

us a great baseline to plan phase

II in fall 2025. With our Sustainable Roofing construction

project that was just awarded in the fall of 2024, we

are currently in the process of choosing a construction

company. This project will replace the asphalt roofs

with metal roofs for the Birch Hill community.

…Continued on page 2...

Radon Article

13

NIXLE Alert Sign-Up

14

Community Christmas

Party Sleigh Ride Photos

15

Climate Summary& Job

Openings

16

Page 2

Page 15

By Nathanael Secor, IAS Coordinator, IAS@badriver-nsn.gov

O

ver the course of two weekends in October

and November, around a dozen individuals

participated in the second annual Braintan Buckskin

workshop to learn traditional hide tanning. The first half

of the workshop coincided with Mashkiiziibii’s

Daagwaagi Gabeshiwin (Fall Camp) which occurred

over Friday, October 11th and Saturday, October 12th.

During these two days the participants learned how to

prep the hides in ash water or lime and scraped their

hides completely to get them to the rawhide stage. This

was a fun time full of jokes and camaraderie and cooperative weather. Several of the participants repeated the

workshop from last year to hone their craft. Local artist/

craftsman Mike Jones led the workshop with Mashkiiziibii’s Matt Deloney and Joseph Gokee assisting.

The second weekend of the workshop, November 2 nd and

3rd, the participants met up again, this time at Mashkiiziibii’s

Elm Hoist Camp to learn the process of braining, softening,

and smoking the hides. These steps transform the hide from

rawhide into supple suede-like buckskin using the traditional

methods of this region. Smoking the hide “locks” the suppleness into place so that it stays soft even after getting wet

rather than reverting back to rawhide. It was wonderful to

see folks happy and working hard together outdoors and

gaining these traditional skills.

After her second year tanning hides, Paige Wiggins took her

skills into the classroom to work on brain tanning projects

with her middle and high school Ojibwemowin classes. The

youth got the opportunity to scrape hides as well as brain

and soften them. Once the hides are smoked, Paige hopes to

make baby

moccasins

with her

classes.

Nice work

Paige!

APRIL - Earth Day Celebration

MAY - Beach Clean-Up (Spring)

JULY - Lake Superior Days

SEPTEMBER - Beach Clean-Up (Fall)

Page 14

COMMON GROUND

Page 3

By Jessica Strand, Environmental Specialist - environmental@badriver-nsn.gov

T

he MNRD has a decades long relationship with the US

Geological Survey (USGS) focused on better understanding

the hydrology of the Bad River Watershed and Lake Superior

Basin and how the plant, animal, and human communities are

tied to water. The MNRD has been working over the years on

building partnerships and funding capacity to support USGS

stream gages at key locations within the watershed, specifically along the Bad River mainstem and one on each of the major tributaries to the Bad River. This goal was finally accomplished in 2024 when USGS installed a stream gage at Potato

River at Highway 169, one of the last major tributaries to

need a gage. Now thanks to the efforts of many different organizations, including ours, stream gage height and flow data

is publicly available through the USGS National Water Dashboard (https://dashboard.waterdata.usgs.gov/app/nwd/en/) for

everyone’s use.

The importance of this availability cannot be understated and

can have a direct, positive impact on individuals and communities calling the Lake Superior Basin home. Everyday uses of

the data collected by this monitoring equipment could include: indicating to anglers and harvesters what water temperatures and flows might be that might influence when they net

and fish; informing canoers, kayakers, and boaters when the

rivers heights and flows are safe for recreation; tracking

snowmelt and storm surges from the upper watershed to the

lower to allow the National Weather Service to issue more

accurate flood advisories; and more. The data from the gages

is also used by natural resource professionals and other scientists to monitor everything from fish spawning and river evolution to human health and climate impacts to water quality.

More specifically, we at the MNRD use the gages for the

following (this is not an exhaustive list):

•

To monitor snowmelt and storm surges to determine if

any emergency alerts need to go out to the community

through the Nixle alert system about possible flooding

impacts (this work is done in coordination with the National Weather Service).

•

As one of several key sources of information to monitor

conditions at the Bad River meander where Enbridge

Line 5 oil and natural gas pipeline is within 10-11 feet of

the riverbank. MNRD uses the gage and flow information to ensure that the court-ordered purge and shutdown plan -- which includes action thresholds based on

real-time data from USGS Bad River gage at Elm Hoist

Road -- is appropriately implemented by Enbridge.

•

To develop a Flood Inundation Model for Denomie

Creek to better understand possible flooding risks in the

Photograph of a bald eagle and other birds on the Potato River upstream of Highway 169 as capture by the USGS gage camera on

December 1, 2024.

New Odanah Community and the Wastewater Treatment

Plant from the flashy flows from Denomie Creek. This

model will help us better understand and mitigate flooding

risks.

•

To study non-point source pollution and sediment loading

into Beartrap Creek.

•

To better understand the hydrological connections between the Bad River and Kakagon River portions of the

sloughs complex during different river flows and the connection of the rivers and sloughs to Lake Superior based

on river flow, storm surges, and seiche (the water level

rise and fall due to the back-and-forth sloshing effect of

Lake Superior).

•

To more effectively treat Sea Lamprey through monitoring

the flow of the rivers needing treatment with TFM, the

chemical that kills larval lamprey before they mature and

move back out to Lake Superior to feed on Lake Trout and

other species.

•

To predict when fish are likely spawning as certain species

require specific water temperature ranges in which they

spawn.

•

To develop a Cumulative Impact Assessment for the Bad

River Watershed with EPA and USGS to better understand

how human health and hydrology are tied together when it

comes to impacts from mining, concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), pipelines, and other threats and

current challenges on the landscape and other areas hydrologically connected to this watershed.

So, because we’ve found them so helpful in so many ways, we

wanted to highlight how useful they may be and share with you

...continued on page 7...

Page 4

COMMON GROUND

Page 13

A

By Zakk Zander Indoor Air Quality Tech / Tribal Radon Program Manager, airqualitytech@badriver-nsn.gov

action would be to call 911. Even if there is no risk to human life, any large spill should be reported to the National

Response Center. Their number is (800) 424-8802. This

federal hotline takes down all the information regarding

such a release and broadcasts it to every spill responder in

the region or state that could provide assistance. Organizations such as the US Environmental Protection Agency,

US Coast Guard, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Emergency Management, various fire

departments, and Tribes all get notification of what took

place and coordinate a response. The Band itself also has

an Emergency Response Plan that would be triggered by

any major spill. That plan details the emergency support

functions that the Band’s Emergency Response Team

would provide.

However, if a minor accident or spill was noticed in the

community of a size or extent that didn’t warrant coordination among every organization in the area, there is still a

path that can be taken to get that incident addressed. The

P

simplest way is to make a phone call to the MNRD Brownfield Program

at (715) 685-4440, or the MNRD Director at (715) 292-0197. If someone

happens upon a minor spill, calling MNRD and describing what is seen,

at what time, and a short description of the incident will help in getting

whatever contamination is present contained and cleaned up quickly. If it

is the caller themselves whom had an accident, spilled something, or had

car troubles that resulted in a leak, Tribal Code Ch. 3.25 (Environmental

Response and Remediation Code) requires that releases are reported to

MNRD.

Whether a spill is big or small, let MNRD know if one occurred so we

can assist in keeping the landscape as healthy as possible. Lastly, previously discovered contaminated sites that are being actively remediated or

monitored can always be found on the brownfield program webpage https://www.badriver-nsn.gov/natural-resources/brownfield/. Miigwech!

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

lans are being made for each residence at Bad River to

receive a hazard tree inventory and analysis. During

this process we will identify trees that are identified as hazardous

and potentially hazardous in the future. Hazard targets can be

homes, garages, yard items, and of course, humans. Along with

the structure and soundness of the tree, proximity to potential

targets will be analyzed to grade the hazard potential of each

tree.

Those who are represented by Bad River Housing need not register. Permission will be required from all others. Bad River Forestry is honored to serve you and your family.

https://www.wpr.org/shows/wisconsin-today-2/the-facts-aboutfluoride-preventing-electricalfires-in-low-incomeneighborhoods-nurturingurban-forests

s we plunge into the winter

weather it is once again time

Now getting to the point of

to start thinking about testing your home

the title. This year the Bad

for radon. As folks may be aware, radon is

River Radon program and

a carcinogen that has been linked to the

the Bad River Health and

development of lung cancer. It is a natural

Wellness center have part-

radioactive gas that is present everywhere

nered with the UW-Carbone

and is commonly traced back to sources in

Cancer Institute to test, and

the soil around your home. It infiltrates

more im-

your home through foundation cracks and

portantly to

Radon Level before and after system installation

openings, like sump pits or exposed soil

mitigate, any

Levels in pico curies per Liter of air (pCi/L)

beneath trailer homes. Once in the home

Tribal members

radon continues to break down into radio-

homes that test

active particles that can be breathed in and

at or above the

enter the lungs airways. The particles con-

EPA’s action

tinue to release energy that can then con-

level of 4pCi/L.

tribute to the development of lung cancer.

This is an excit-

The concentration and length of exposure

ing opportunity

are both factors in the risk towards devel-

for the Tribe

opment of radon-induced lung cancer,

because having

which onset of the disease may not be

a funding

noticed for many years.

source for the installation of a radon mitiga-

Pre mitigation

Post mitigation

Housing Unit 1

4.8

0.3

Housing Unit 2

6.3

0.3

Housing Unit 3

3.3

0.3

Housing Unit 4

4.2

0.3

Housing Unit 5

4.0

0.3

Bad River’s Urban Forestry Project!

tion system isn’t as straight forward as one

The Birch Hill Red Pine Chipping project has

wrapped up for the most part. TJ (Forest Technician) and his crews worked very hard from

December of 2023 until October of 2024 to

reduce the biomass left behind from the Dagwaagin 2023 pine thinning project. While some tops are still in

the more wooded areas, those will

decompose over time and add

nutrients to the soil. If anyone

identifies an area that needs more

attention for cleanup, please let us

know.

would want. The SIRG (State and Tribal

We always appreciate your communication and feedback! 715685-8929 OR Forester@badrivernsn.gov

Click on the link above to

hear Jay Damphier from

the Wisconsin DNR discuss

Fortunately, there is an easy solution to

Indoor Radon Grant) money this program

this common carcinogen, through a decep-

uses to do testing, outreach and pay a salary

tively simple set of pipes, well drilled

cannot be used to fix high radon levels when

holes and a fan can reduce indoor radon

they are found. Which as you could proba-

levels to relatively low concentrations.

bly guess makes it pretty tricky to fix a

Some of these systems have already been

home when it does test above the EPA’s

installed on the reservation. These systems

action level of 4.0pCi/l. In the past the Ra-

are very effective at reducing indoor radon

don Program has worked with the Bad River

levels in one of the homes before mitiga-

Housing Authority to find funds from differ-

tion was tested at 6.3pCi/L (2.3pCi/L over

ent sources that would cover the cost of

the mitigation level) and post mitigation

installing a radon mitigation system. How-

testing results were 0.03pCi/L. Take a look

ever, finding funding for the installation of

at Table 1 for more results from other miti-

radon mitigation systems is challenging and

gation systems on the reservation.

sporadic. With this partnership we will be

able cover the cost of the test kits and the

...continued on page 8...

installation of a radon mitigation system if your residence does end up

testing higher than the action level of

4pCi/l. There is no deadline to sign up

for this program, however testing will

begin mid-January and end in March.

After that the testing will be on pause

for the warmer months while homes

that are in need of mitigation are addressed. Currently we plan on running

this again next year to catch as many

missed houses as possible, but beyond

that we cannot guarantee when this

type of project opportunity will come

around again. So please, when you are

considering whether or not you want

to test for radon, think about who you

are passing you home down to.

Page 12

Page 5

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

Our anaerobic digestor feasibility study has

initially reported that taking on this project

would not be beneficial at this time. If you’re

still curious, an anaerobic digestor is a machine

that decomposes organic matter and converts it

into biogas, which is gas composed primarily of

carbon dioxide and methane. This was a study

of interest because it’s a renewable source of

energy, that uses organic matter already on the

Reservation, such as cattails or waste from the

Wastewater Treatment Plant. Neither option has

enough matter to properly run an anaerobic

digestor. Though this is the initial report of the

study, it doesn’t mean it can’t be revisited with

other approaches in the future.

T

he Non-Local Beings

program has been busy

this year, and here are

some of our biggest accomplishments:

We arranged a Clean Boats,

Clean Waters training with the

county of Ashland for 7 staff of

Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources

 Purchased a CD3 Mobile Boat

Wash Station and deployed it

at the Bad River Boat Landing

(see fall Common Ground article for more information) 2024

Fall Edition

 Completed 227 watercraft inspections at boat landings on

the reservation

 Completed 121 vehicle and

equipment inspections (learn

more about equipment inspections on the Non-Local Beings

web page: https://

www.badriver-nsn.gov/naturalresources/non-local-beings/

 Removed an estimated 12 acres

of non-local beings from terrestrial areas of the reservation

and 6 acres from the sloughs



See the map below for more information about the areas where control work took place and reach out

if you have any questions or concerns at nonlocalbeings@badrivernsn.gov or 715-685-7840 ext. 1558.

In the energy world, there was an exciting visit

from our federal partners in mid-October. On

one day, we hosted two EPA project officers,

Camden and Ivy. EPA brought a large paper

check that has the grant amount on it

($8,385,892.00!!) and there was a celebration

B

Purple pin – Purple loosestrife

Green/red pin – Buckthorn

Orange pin – Wild parsnip

Yellow pin – Poison hemlock

oozh, Mark Arbuckle here, back

as a full-time water resource

technician. Having been

away from the department

only for the Fall, I ran as a

LTE this past Spring and

Summer to help accommodate personal endeavors

after my term. I wasn’t far as I

was operating in the area as a

local business owner. Having

just gone through December

it was hard to realize Spring maybe just three

short months out? However, I would have likely

found my way back to NRD in some form by

then; just trying to keep it simple at the moment. Aside from work I spent my time this Fall

enjoying the outdoors as much as possible fishing, hunting, recreational riding. Hope to see

everyone around and enjoy the remaining winter months!

speech that was attended by Mashkiiziibii

Natural Resource Department employees,

tribal council, department heads, and sub

awardee partners. The next day we hosted

three Department of Energy project officers,

Gee, Brandon, and Cassandra. On both days,

Chairman Blanchard welcomed our partners,

then Martin Powless (Thursday with EPA)

and Gloria Wiggins (Friday with Department

of Energy) led us in a prayer and then they

were given the “certified Bad River energy

tour”.

Looking to 2025, there will be many updates

on the energy grants, and we will be looking

to the community to give input at various

upcoming events. Make sure to keep us on

your radar, as we look to the people of Bad

River for wisdom in these trailblazing times.

L to R: Naomi Tillison, Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources

Director; Robert “Buzzy” Blanchard, Bad River Tribal

Chairman; Camden Ogletree, EPA Project Officer

M

y name is

Jakob Wohlford, I am originally from

Rochester, Minnesota, but

moved up here when I attended Northland College and

have been here ever since. I

graduated from Northland in

2022 with a degree in Natural

Resources with an emphasis

on Fisheries and Wildlife

Ecology. I have grown up in

the outdoors doing many activities like hunting, fishing, and hiking, so that is where I

found my love for Natural Resources and

knew I wanted to make a career out of it! I

am excited to be a part of the team as the

Ornithology Specialist and help make a

difference!

Page 6

COMMON GROUND

Page 11

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

Plant Guide Development and

culturally significant species.

To follow up with the IAS students field trip to the sloughs in

June and other related field work

the program has identified several resources that are being used

to survey and evaluate native

plant communities to identify

culturally significant plant species

and develop a plant guide

•

MNRD manoomin and wetlands programs conducted

plant identification with 15

IAS students in June -Aug

2024

•

276 plant species were identified in the Northland College

Kakagon- Bad River vegetative

study 2022. The 25 most abundant species located in the

Kakagon Slough will be the initial

plant species for the plant guide.

The same will happen for the

most abundant 25 in the Bad River Slough

•

Ojibwe language skills learned

from attending LCOOU and Bad

River Language program will be

used to identify names and culturally significant species. eg food,

traditional use

•

Other resources are available but

with the olden type spelling that

is outdated and difficult to read.

•

Other information may include

soil, height, ecological , etc

Kakagon/ Bad River Slough

Study

A field visit of the Kakagon

Sloughs Headwaters study site

was conducted with Scott Weyandot, AMI Consulting Engineer

and myself on October 18, 2024.

We completed a

walk over/ drive

by with discussion of water

flow, nutrient

sources, culvert

location, and

vegetative characteristics and

response at various locations:

Hatchery and

ponds, 2nd bridge , flood flow of

Bad River from pow wow

grounds to US hwy2 bridge, and

Old Odanah area.

-Manoomin Program

Page 10

Page 7

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

I

links to make your access to them and the

dashboard easier! Below are the links to the

different gages in the watershed; the letters

correspond with the dots on the map to

show where each gage is located. Included

is a QR code for you to quickly snap and

get the main dashboard saved to your mobile devices!

t was a smoky year in

2021 in the Lake Superior region, but so too was

2023. And while 2024 is

wrapping up, wildfire smoke

also showed up in the air

quality data on the Bad River

Reservation in 2024. Recent

years have set records in both

the number of wildfires (and

acreage) burned in the western United States and in Canada (both the western provinces, but also Quebec and Ontario), therefore breaking records in the amount of wildfire

smoke produced and the areas

that noticed and lived with the

smoke.

All monitoring sites in Wisconsin that

measure fine particulate pollution, including here in Odanah, measured an

uptick of fine particulate pollution in

recent years.

This graph shows that uptick. Monitoring values for each site in Wisconsin are

represented on this graph. Each year’s

data for each site is actually an average

of the most recent three years, there is an

equation for this calculation, and the

number produced is called a “design value”. A design value can be compared to

the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) or to observe a trend.

This graph was pulled from the recently

published 2024 Air Quality Trends report by the Wisconsin DNR. The Wisconsin DNR operates many of the air

monitoring sites across Wisconsin and

coordinates with the two Tribes that also

monitor air quality data. Each year the

A – Beartrap Creek @ US Hwy 2 (04026390)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoringlocation/04026390/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

•

Data: gage height and discharge (i.e., flow)

B – Bad River @ US Hwy 2 (04027595)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoringlocation/04027595/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow),

and photos. Has set flooding action stages

C – Bad River @ Elmhoist Rd (04027000)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoringlocation/04027000/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow),

and water quality parameters (dissolved

oxygen, pH, specific conductance, water

temperature, turbidity)

Has set flooding action stages

data is reviewed, compiled, and released in a report. The report can be

found at the following link:

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/

AirQuality/Trends.html

While the forecast in early 2024 was

for a very active wildfire season in the

western portions of the United States

and Canada, the season was less severe

than initially forecast. After an eyeopening year of 2021, after many years

of believing that wildfires were only

something that affected the western

states and tribes, we’re now seeing

wildfire smoke in our area almost every

year. Until the data shows this trend is

reversing, we need to expect and prepare for more wildfire smoke in our air

in the coming years.

For monitoring wildfire smoke, as well

as determining impacts of air quality

on human health, the Bad River Band’s

Map of USGS gages in the Bad River Watershed and portions of the surrounding counties. Letters

in Bad River Watershed dots correspond with list of gages in this article.

•

D – Bad River @ Hwy 169 (04026511)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04026511/

#dataTypeId=continuous-00065-0&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow), and photos

Natural Resource Department

has monitored fine particulate

pollution since 2002 and plans

to continue these monitoring

efforts into the future. Support

for these monitoring efforts

comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and

the State of Wisconsin, many

thanks to both agencies for

partnering with the Bad River

Band on this project.

E – Denomie Creek @ Maple Street (040276505)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/040276505/

#dataTypeId=continuous-00065-0&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height and discharge (i.e., flow)

F – Denomie Creek @ Aspen Acres (463227090365601)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/463227090365601/

#dataTypeId=continuous-00045-0&period=P7D&showMedian=true

• Data: precipitation and photos

G – Potato River @ Hwy 169 (04026900)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04026900/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow), precipitation,

and photos

H – Tyler Forks River @ Stricker Rd (04026561)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoringlocation/04026561/#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

QR code for main

USGS Dashboard.

Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow), and water quality parameters (dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance, water temperature, turbidity)

I – Marengo River @ Government Rd (04026740)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04026740/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000651914663716&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow), and precipitation

J – Marengo River @ Reimer Rd (040265981)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/040265981/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow), and photos

K – Marengo River @ Four Corners Rd (040265935)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/040265935/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow), and photos

L – White River @ White River Dam (04027500)

• https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/04027500/

#dataTypeId=continuous-000650&period=P7D&showMedian=false

• Data: gage height, discharge (i.e., flow), and precipitation

Page 8

COMMON GROUND

Page 9

COMMON GROUND

By Nathanael Secor, IAS Coordinator, IAS@badriver-nsn.gov

T

he Mashkiiziibii Indigenous Arts and Sciences ran

another dynamic IAS Summer Youth Program

again this past summer. Over the course of 5 weeks, 15

Mashkiiziibii high school students explored the lands and

water of the reservation and ceded territories, learned

about Ojibwe arts, culture, and language, and shadowed

tribal natural resources professionals.

Participants agreed that one of the highlights of this

year’s program was the overnight trip to Mooningwaanekaaning Minis (Madeline Island). During this trip, the

youth visited the Madeline Island Museum’s exhibit featuring local native culture and history. They also learned

about Anishinaabe corn from the Giiwekii project, helping to weed and mulch the trial plots where traditional corn

breeding was taking place. The youth helped set and pull

gillnets off the north end of the island as well as process

fish under Mashkiiziibii’s Genawendang Aki David Nevala’s mentorship. The high point was perhaps seeing

some live Indigenous (Anishinaabe, Mestizo) hip hop featuring Los Indios, a duo of brothers from Tucson who are

also involved with Giiwekii. This trip is likely to be an

annual feature of our program.

The IAS Summer Youth Program also visited the Sandy

Lake Commemorative Ceremony this year, camping two nights

at the Sandy Lake State Recreation Area. The youth participated

in the canoe ceremony and learned about this historical atrocity.

The trip was hardly all somber, they also caught and prepared

crayfish, played epic night games, and went hiking and swimming at Jay Cooke State Park on our return trip.

During the third week of the program, youth got the opportunity

to weave a black ash basket with Ogemakwe April Stone or

build a flute with Miskwaabekaang’s Anakwad Frank Montano.

The youth spent several days learning the basics of these crafts

including pounding ash logs to make splints and gouging the

cedar blanks to hollow out their flutes. April and Frank are both

master craftspeople who are well recognized for their crafts; the

youths’ crafts were both beautiful and functional from this expert mentorship.

Part of the program’s special emphasis is partnering with Mashkiiziibii Natural Resources Dept so that the youth get exposure

to tribal natural resource careers. The youth split up between the

Manoomin, Forestry, Water, Wildlife, and Non-Local Beings

programs to shadow and assist the programs in their field work.

The youth learned important job

skills as well as got a window into

aspects of MNRD work. The Wildlife program also took the whole

group out to Chequamegon Point to

observe and monitor the endangered

Piping Plover nest sites from afar. At

the culmination of the program, a large

majority of the youth express interest in

continuing to learn about their environment.