News Feature                                                            6/11/2007

NRCS – Fond du Lac Tribe sign Cultural Resources Agreement

Minnesota NRCS signed a cultural resource tribal agreement with the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa on Monday, June 11, 2007 at the Black Bear Casino located in Carlton, Minnesota. Minnesota NRCS State Conservationist William Hunt along with Fond du Lac Tribal Chairwoman Karen Diver signed the protocol which outlines a process for consulting with the tribe prior to implementing any practices (i.e. undertakings) that will affect tribal lands and resources, especially within reservation boundaries. Consultation ensures that tribal interests, relating to natural resources and traditional cultural and spiritual places, are represented and considered in all phases of conservation planning.

This agreement continues to strengthen our government-to-government relationship with the tribe and builds on an already established conservation partnership. NRCS, out of the Duluth Field Office, and the Fond du Lac Band have partnered together on several conservation projects over the past decade. The main emphasis has been restoration of the reservation’s wild rice lakes. The once productive lakes were connected with a judicial ditch system in the early 1900's in an effort to create dry land farming. With EQIP funds helped the tribe construct structures for water control on the ditches to manage and maintain lake levels for rice production. NRCS has also used EQIP to help the band fund mechanical control of invasive aquatic vegetation impacting wild rice beds. In addition to the rice lakes work NRCS has helped the band with projects ranging from controlling erosion on abandoned logging roads, improving wildlife habitat to protecting ground water resources by helping to fund the sealing of abandoned wells.

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