ES 600 Wild Rice Revitalization Project 2022

Botany Group

The Botany group is responsible for crucial research about wetlands and manoomin. They have analyzed the hybridization of northern and southern rices, harvesting methods, threats to wild rice revitalization, and the rhetoric surrounding interactions with invasive species. To research this, the Botany group has had to understanding scientific implications of wild rice and well as cultural implications. Using their data and analysis, they have created official reports about the following topics: threats to wild rice restoration, companion plants to plant with rice, and a summary of cultural harvest and restoration techniques for southern rice. These reports are available below. 

To best visualize their findings, the Botany group has also created graphics that educate the public on the benefits of wetlands and wild rice. These also show tribal history with wild rice, and why it is such an important aspect of Brothertown’s and other tribe’s cultures. This visual is available below. 

Biodiversity Group

The Biodiversity group of this project has a focus on compiling a report about how manoomin interacts with the ecosystem around it. The report highlights its relationship with waterfowl, as well as with fish and aquatic invertebrates. Understanding the ecological relationship that manoomin has with other plants and wildlife shows why wetland habitats have been diminishing, and why reintroducing manoomin would lead to extensive benefits. Our Biodiversity group has researched how using wild rice in wetland habitats would not only benefit the flora and fauna in northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, but it would restore a resource that is at the heart of many tribal communities in the midwest. This research is crucial in leading to effective management and revitalization plans for the Lake Winnebago watershed. This report is available below.

The further communicate their findings and push for public education about manoomin in wetlands, the Biodiversity group has worked on creating multiple different visualizations of their findings. They’ve created trifolds with information about community fishing education, historic tribal fishing areas, ecosystem interactions with other wildlife and wild rice, and education regarding beneficial hunter/trapper interactions. These visuals are available below. 

Policy Group

The Policy group was tasked with creating policy briefs, map designations, case studies, and a sustainability plan covering a broad range of topics. These topics include the Breakwall Project (which would encompass 400 acres of Lake Poygan, and stabilizes sediment coming from other rivers to permit wild rice to grow in the area of the breakwall), the permitting of rice harvests for tribal members, the Ojibwe tribe’s involvement in the Wild Rice Restoration Project, as well as general policies and treaties related to wild rice. The Policy group is responsible for identifying and researching the policies that affect wild rice restoration, harvesting, and conservation. To share their findings, they’ve created a plethora of visual aids such as maps and infographs. These are linked below.  

Communications Group

The Communications group is responsible for creating media that pushes for the outreach and education about the revitalization project overall. Our main vessel of doing this is creating a website that allows people access to multiple resources relating to the project. The website has tabs leading to information about the project overall, about Brothertown’s community, how to get involved, extra resources, a photo gallery, and contact information. Our website is aimed to be self explanatory and easy to use, so anyone anywhere can learn and benefit from education about wild rice. We also have created this website, which highlights the UW-Madison course that made our involvement in this project possible. This website shares each groups research and findings, as well as the research and findings that have been found in previous years for different projects.

The Communications group has also created other media to advocate for the Wild Rice Revitlization Project, including a TikTok, and a trifold brochure. 

 

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