1854 Treaty Authority News

It's Whitefish Netting season!

See page #52 in the 1854 Conservation Code for Whitefish Netting regulations.

Which lakes are open:

2022 Whitefish Netting Season, posting #1

2022 Whitefish Netting Season, posting #2

Please take the Waterway Benefits Survey!

Receive a $10 debit cash card for participating in a 2-minunte survey about your experiences with local lakes, river, and streams.

The confidential survey will ask you about:

• Your experiences with local rivers, streams, and lakes
• Barriers you face in being able to enjoy the water
• Your demographics

This survey is part of a UMD doctoral research project that will help environmental managers understand how the community benefits from local lakes, rivers, and streams and help make benefits more accessible to everyone. 

Learn more and take the survey: z.umn.edu/waterwaybenefits

Online or paper survey available. Questions? E-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.   UMN IRB #13475, FDL IRB #102

Chief Conservation Officer, Clay Rumph, was awarded 2022 Conservation Officer of the Year at the annual Native American Fish and Wildlife Society's Great Lakes Region conference held in Lac Court Orielles, Sept. 18-23rd, 2022. Ho-wa! Congrats Clay, you are truly an inspriation to your fellow officers in the area.

Check out the CAMPGROUND here! 

See the HUNTER WALKING TRAILS here!

ATTENTION HUNTERS – with hunting seasons upon us, we wanted to remind folks to be safe and be aware of road conditions and closures. Heavy rains this spring and summer have washed out some roads and bridges in the 1854 Ceded Territory. Major forest road closures include Heffelfinger Rd just west of Finland, Beaver River Road between County Rd 15 and Heffelfinger Rd, East General Grade off of Hwy 1 north of Finland, and Esther Lake Rd between the Arrowhead Trail and Tom Lake Rd in Cook County.

Additional information on road conditions can be found in a few places: 

• MN DNR State Forest Road Conditions (updated weekly): https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/trailconditions/listing.html
• Lake County Forest Road Closures: https://www.co.lake.mn.us/forestry/roads/
• St. Louis County Forest Road Closures: https://gis.stlouiscountymn.gov/portal/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=fdeb33e08a72424ea3ea676fb366391a

1854 Treaty Authority's 2022 Dagwaagin (fall) newsletter is now available. It features 1854's approved 2022 treaty hunting and trapping seasons, and highlights a handful of opportunities for youth harvest experiences. 

Manoominike-giizis is just about underway, and we remind everyone that the harvest of unripe, green rice is unlawful. Join us in saying farewell to our Fish and Wildlife Specialist, Tony Anselmo.

Good luck and play it safe as you participate in treaty harfest activities this season. As always, if you have any questions don't hesitate to give us a call: 218-722-8907

READ IT HERE

Looking to reacquaint yourself with manoomin? Want to check out the finishing process first-hand? Join us!

We are weeks (or days) away from hitting the woods and waters and filling the freezer. Last week, the 1854 Treaty Authority Board of Directors approved the 2022 Ricing Seasons/Hours and the 2022 Hunting/Trapping Seasons/Bag Limits.

-> Approved 2022 Manoomin Harvest Season/Hours (*Please be a good steward and do not harvest rice until it is fully ripe.)

-> Approved 2022 Hunting/Trapping Seasons

A few reminders as we head into the dagwaagin harvest season...

• Take a spin through the 1854 Conservation Code before the opener to make sure you have your plans and appropriate gear ready and accounted for. (No one wants to be 2 hours up the trail when you realize you forgot "one of the most important things".
• Don't forget: the 1854 Board of Directors has approved the use of Tribal enrollment cards for off-reservation, treaty harvest, in lieu of an 1854 ID card until DECEMBER 31ST, 2022. No need for all the "Last Minute Lucys" to race to the 1854 Duluth-office the afternoon before deer opener.
• The Youth Early Deer Hunt is scheduled for October 20-23rd, 2022 (yes, that is MEA weekend). ALL participating Grand Portage and Bois Forte youth will be automatically be entered in a drawing to win a prize of hunting gear worth $150 or more after the close of the weekend. (Range finder? Tree stand? Trail camera?)
• Be safe out there, and bring home the bacon!

ACCESS THE 2022 MOOSE APPLICATION HERE

Looking forward to ricing season? So are we!

In general, it is a looking like maybe a slightly below average year for wild rice across the 1854 Ceded Territory. In our travels, we are seeing a mixed bag of rice conditions – some good areas, some areas down this year. Our website will always have the most current information and photos:  https://www.1854treatyauthority.org/wild-rice/wild-rice-condition-updates.html   

Condition Updates 8/8/2022

**Plans for Manoomin Camp are underway... It will take place on Saturday September 10th, 10am-3pm. Location TBD, although it will be held in the greater Duluth area. Stay tuned for details as they develop!

(photos from Breda Lake, 8/10/2022)

NOW AVAILABLE: the 2022 Moose Hunt Information Packet and Application

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE AUGUST 5TH, 2022, because of the season opening earlier this year (September 15th). The season will run through December 31st, 2022, or until a harvest limit of 15 moose is reached for each band. 

*MORE permits will be distributed this year, increasing applicant chances of getting a tag - 50 permits total (25 Bois Forte, 25 Grand Portage)

The 1854 Duluth-offices will be closed Monday June 20th in honor of the Juneteenth Day Federal holiday. Our offices will return to regular business hours on Tuesday June 21st, 2022 (8am-4:30pm).

Moose show their approval of a new project to monitor snow depth in moose habitat!

Last fall, 1854 Treaty Authority resource management staff partnered with the Environmental Institute at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and the NASA SnowEx program to monitor snow depth across the 1854 Ceded Territory as a part of the climate program’s efforts to track changing winter conditions. Images from one of the monitoring sites suggest another use for the snow depth measurement post as a FACE SCRATCHER. 

2021-2022 winter season data will be analyzed this summer, and we hope to follow through with expanding the program and establish more monitoring stations this coming winter.

For questions about this project contact Climate Biologist, Hilarie Sorensen:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

(218) 722-8907

Well, winter sprang into summer, and here we are! Anyone making plans to go camping?

1854 has updated the Superior National Forest Camping Information for the 2022 Season.

Following last year’s wildfires, there is only one campground closed due to burn damage - McDougal Lake Campground. Updates such as closures and/or restrictions, are listed on the Alerts and Notices page of the USFS Superior National Forest webpage. It is recommend to call ahead to the Range Station overseeing specific campground destinations for conditions before going out on the Forest, especially the BWCA Wilderness:

• Gunflint Ranger Station: (218) 387-1750

• Kawishiwi Ranger Station: (218) 365-7600

• LaCroix Ranger Station: (218) 666-0020

• Laurentian Ranger Station: (218) 453-8650

• Tofte Ranger Station: (218) 663-8060

Reminder: Bois Forte and Grand Portage band members can camp at Superior National Forest campgrounds listed below without paying camping fees. 

NEW IN 2022: NO fees will be charged to Grand Portage or Bois Forte enrollees when reserving campgrounds ahead of time. Reservations can be made via the online system or by calling: 1-877-444-6777. If reserving online, please select the “Apply Discount” button when checking. If reserving via telephone, indicate that you are a band member to avoid being charged fees. *Campsite usage by “drop in” (daily) is still free for enrollees as before. Campers must have their 1854 or Tribal identification card on their person and provide their ID number and Band affiliation on campsite registration forms.

Superior National Forest campgrounds available for band member use without fees: 

• Birch Lake 

• Cadotte Lake  

• Crescent Lake

• Divide Lake

• Devil Track Lake

• East Bearskin Lake

• Echo Lake

• Fall Lake

• Fenske Lake

• Flour Lake

• Iron Lake

• Jeanette Lake

• Kimball Lake

• Little Isabella River

• McDougal Lake

• Ninemile Lake

• Pfeiffer Lake

• Sawbill Lake

• S. Kawishiwi River

• Temperance River

• Trail’s End

• Two Island Lake

• Whiteface Reservoir

Information and updates for each individual campground can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/activity/superior/recreation/camping-cabins/?recid=36905&actid=29

Miigwech Forest Service for working to make this change and maintaining trust responsibilities!

  Campsite on Lake Jeanette

An amazing opportunity for Bois Forte youth this summer...

Grand Portage has been a site of cosmopolitan partnership since well before the fur trade in the 1790’s. In a novel co-management situation, the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and the National Park Service collaborate to tell that story at the Grand Portage National Monument. Likewise, the Grand Portage Band is proud to have the significance of Isle Royale National Park acknowledged and designated as a ‘Traditional Cultural Place’ (dedicated August 2021). The 1854 Treaty Authority Education and Outreach Division prioritizes providing tribal youth with experiential opportunities with culturally significant resources and outdoor skill building. It is of utmost importance for tribal youth to invest in protecting, preserving and enhancing area natural/cultural resources as they grow to become the future stewards of rights (‘ways’) and resources (‘beings’) within the Indigenous ceded lands and the Lake Superior basin.

In partnership with Minnesota SeaGrant, the Grand Portage National Monument was initially awarded 2018 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding project monies to hold science-based programming for youth. Postponed events in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic provided extra planning time for the management team to strategize how best to meet Great Lakes Environmental literacy principles through meaningful and indigenous-focused programing. With the addition of Tribal Interpretive staff leadership, careful planning was taken to orient the ‘Agaaming Aki’ program goals to fit tribal community needs and strengths. During the summer of 2022, Grand Portage youth will host Bois Forte peers and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College ‘Gidaa’ camp youth in two ‘Agaaming Aki’ events. Through hands-on experiences, intertribal youth will network; build relationships and confidence through structured and unstructured near-shore, science-based activities, career exploration, and community connections on the Grand Portage Reservation and Isle Royale National Park. Camp activities will include:

• Experience historic sites and natural features that define kinship on the landscape (ex. the main depot of the Northwest Trading company, High Falls on the Pigeon River, Isle Royale, Little Sprit Cedar Tree)

• Investigate shoreline processes that sustain lake-wide food chains

• Participate in a Lake Superior Lake Trout monitoring survey and subsistence activities

• Engage over evening campfires; witness a Ojibwe/Dakota star story presentation, craft with community members, and catch up on natural resource management career opportunities

Submit the APPLICATION by Friday June 17th, 2022

Read the FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

See the FULL PROGRAM FLYER