Manoomin (wild rice) Restoration

Tomorrow, February 10th from 10:45 to noon central time join the Stewardship Network for a live webcast on Manoomin Restoration. Below is an excerpt from the website regarding the webcast:

Although we may not readily think of rice when thinking about Great Lakes ecosystems, manoomin, the Ojibwe name for wild rice, is an important aspect of Great Lakes tribal culture, history, and local conservation efforts. Join Roger LaBine of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa in discussing the cultural importance of Manoomin, difficulties in local conservation efforts, and growing concerns, such as corporations seeking to patent manoomin’s unique genetic make-up.

Ojibwe are working to restore wild rice to their native lands across the Great Lakes Region. Restoration efforts vary, depending on the changes that have taken place. Higher water levels due to water control structures on some lakes have limited wild rice growth; stabilized water levels and changing flow patterns may have also contributed to increased growth of pickerel weed and cattails, species which are native to the area but compete with wild rice in shallow areas. More information is needed to understand the relationships between water levels, native vegetation growth and competition with wild rice.

Mining and wild rice

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is in the news these days due to a proposed Sulfide Mine Development near the border of this vast wilderness. Friends of the Boundary Water Wilderness, a non-profit organized to protect, preserve and restore the wilderness character of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Quetico-Superior Ecosystem, has put together information and links to various articles on a website at www.preciouswaters.org. Wild rice, dependent on healthy waters, grows in that region and should be considered when developing any industry, particularly one with the impacts of mining.

I would encourage people to educate themselves on both the industry and the potential impacts of this type of mining in an area of precious water. Many environmental organizations are looking at this - and you can too. A link to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement is on the above mentioned website - time to respond as a citizen is short. Comments will only be taken until tomorrow, Feb. 3 at 4:30 p.m. Stay tuned for future developments.