Anishinaabe Insights: A closer look at TEK - Indigenous knowledge finds its way into science & policy.

By Michael Waasegiizhig Price, GLIFWC TEK Specialist

In November 2021, the President of the United States issued an Executive Memorandum ordering all federal agencies to integrate Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) into federal decision-making. This memorandum is meant to strengthen relations between federally recognized tribal nations and the federal government, as well as tap into the rich wisdom that Indigenous people possess about the landscape. But what does this really mean? The term, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), has been around since the mid-1990s.

The word is out on Ganawenindiwag agamiing (They take care of each other on the shore)

By Rob Croll, GLIFWC  Climate Change Program Coordinator 

When Cherie Hagen, Lake Superior Unit Manager in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Office of Great Waters, heard Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve (LSNERR) and GLIFWC staff share a presentation on Ganawenindiwag: Working with plant relatives to heal and protect Gichigami shorelines at the 2024 St. Louis River Summit she was excited about this new resource and started thinking about how her team could incorporate it’s teachings into their work.

Copperwood project updates: A funding shortfall & GLIFWC report details potential mining waste threat

By John Coleman GLIFWC Environmental Section Leader 

Following the failure of a $50 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to Highland Copper to make it into the state budget for the proposed Copperwood Mine, site development has slowed but continues to move ahead. Tapping existing funds, Highland Copper is creating wetlands at the Gogebic County site as part of the project’s wetland and stream mitigation program.

Protecting and restoring Buffalo Reef Final Alternatives Analysis released

By Esteban Chiriboga & Jennifer Vanator GLIFWC Staff

Gay, Mich.—The almost two-decade long effort to address contamination from mine tailings along the eastern shore of the Keweenaw Peninsula takes a major step forward with the release of the Final Alternatives Analysis report. This past January the Buffalo Reef Task Force (BRTF) released the Final report, which outlines all alternatives that were proposed and analyzed for addressing the encroachment of mine tailings, or stamp sands, onto Buffalo Reef and its associated whitefish and lake trout spawning areas.

Molinia moves in

At least 232 species of grasses occur outside cultivation in Wisconsin. About 60% of these are native to the state, with the other 40% arriving since European settlement. One of the more recent arrivals is purple moorgrass. It probably was brought over as an ornamental grass, due to it’s clumping (“cespitose”) habit and attractive purplish seed stalks in late summer. Purple moorgrass (Molinia caerulea) is a perennial grass native to Europe, North Africa, the Caucasus region and Siberia. It was first documented in North America in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1878.

For the love of Hemlocks: tiny insects target mighty Gaagaagimizhiin

For the love of hemlocks Tiny insects target mighty gaagaagimizhiin 

By GLIFWC Invasive Species Coordinator, Steve Garske 

Everyone loves gaagaagimizh, or eastern hemlock tree. White-tailed deer (waawaashkeshi) love gaagaagimizhiin (hemlock trees) for the food and cover they provide in winter. Gaagwag (porcupines) love the salty taste of their branches. Hermit thrushes, Acadian flycatchers and several species of warblers love them for their dense canopies that support a variety of insects and mites. 

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