Tribal Wild Plant Gathering on National Forests and Wisconsin State Lands During the Season

Transcription

1 Tribal Wild Plant Gathering on National Forests and Wisconsin State Lands During the Season by Alexandra Wrobel Forest Ecologist Administrative Report September 2015 Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission Biological Services Division P.O. Box 9 Odanah, WI (715)

2 INTRODUCTION The Ojibwe gather and use hundreds of plant species in the course of their lives. This use of wild plants was and continues to be inextricably tied to the cultural practices and spiritual wellbeing of the people. Many authors have documented the use of wild plants by the Ojibwe people for a myriad of purposes including Densmore (1928) and Moermond (1986). Meeker et al. (1993) documented the uses of 384 species of plants by the Great Lakes Ojibwe. US Forest Service Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) In order to provide for the exercise of treaty gathering rights on lands managed by the USDA Forest Service (USFS) within the 1836, 1837, and 1842 ceded territories, nine of the GLIFWC member tribes and the USFS negotiated interim agreements annually beginning in At the same time the parties undertook discussions to develop a more comprehensive and long term agreement. The discussions resulted in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entitled Tribal - USDA Forest Service Relations on National Forest Lands within the Ceded Territory in Treaties of 1836, 1837, and The MOU was ratified by nine GLIFWC member tribes (Bay Mills, Bad River, Lac Courte Oreilles, Lac du Flambeau, Lac Vieux Desert, Mille Lacs, Mole Lake, St. Croix and Red Cliff) in 1998, a tenth GLIFWC member tribe (Keweenaw Bay) in 2000 and an eleventh GLIFWC member tribe (Fond du Lac) in In 1998, the MOU was signed by three branches of the USFS: The National Forest system, the Northern Research Station and Conservation Enforcement. The National Forest system was represented in the MOU by the Chequamegon-Nicolet in Wisconsin; and the Ottawa, Hiawatha, and Huron-Manistee in Michigan (Figure 1). State of Wisconsin Properties The above MOU only applied to federal lands managed by the United States Forest Service on the above National Forests; it did not apply to lands managed by the State of Wisconsin. For State lands the gathering of wild plants and plant parts was the subject of a trial and ruling in 1991 where the Federal Court found that: The tribes treaty reserved right includes the right to gather miscellaneous forest products, namely, such items as firewood, tree bark, maple sap, lode poles, boughs and marsh hay. Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin (LCO X), 775 F. Supp. 321, 322 (W.D. Wis. 1991). Furthermore, the Court concluded that: With respect to the regulation of the tribes treaty protected right to gather miscellaneous forest products, the state may impose a permit requirement and a 14 day response time for the issuance of such permits. Lac Courte Oreilles v. State of Wisconsin (LCO IX), 758 F. Supp. 1262, 1276 (W.D. Wis. 1991). The State was granted this authority due to the fact that the tribes proposed regulations did not make explicit the 2

3 manner in which the tribal permits would be administered or how the tribes would implement and regulate gathering activities on state or county land. So, for nearly two decades following this Federal Court ruling (and related stipulated agreement), tribal members were required to obtain authorization from the State to harvest miscellaneous forest products from Wisconsin state forests and from other properties owned or managed by the State. After years of discussions between the parties, an agreement was reached that led to increased tribal opportunity for wild plant gathering on Wisconsin state properties. In 2011, the Second Amendment to the Stipulation for Black Bear, Migratory Birds and Wild Plants was filed with the Federal Court and included a provision for the establishment of Tribal Gathering on State Lands Two Year Joint Assessment. The assessment was to determine whether or not the implementation of tribal self-management and self-regulatory provisions for tribal gathering of miscellaneous forest products was consistent with the management objectives of the included DNR properties, and whether the tribes harvest related activities would pose a threat to the resource. Upon completion of this two year study (Stark and Williams 2013) the parties jointly concluded that tribal gathering was consistent with management objectives of the nine State Properties studied, that tribal gathering did not pose a threat to the resources available for gathering, and that the gathering and assessment should be extended for an additional 6 years and include additional properties, as agreed. No additional properties have been added since the completion of the two year study in Tribal Gathering during The purpose of this report is to summarize the results of permits issued to tribal members for gathering non-timber forest products 1 and wild plants 2 during the harvest season (April 1, 2014 March 31, 2015). These permits were valid for National Forests and State Properties, but were not valid for other public lands such as County Forests. It is important to note that this report is a summary of permits issued and that obtaining a permit did not mean a tribal member actually did any gathering. 1 Non-Timber Forest Products: Any of the following miscellaneous forest products: bark, boughs, firewood, lodgepoles and sap. 2 Wild Plant: Miscellaneous forest products that are not trees, such as herbaceous plants and shrubs. 3

4 Figure 1: Ceded territories and national forests covered in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entitled Tribal - USDA Forest Service Relations on National Forest Lands within the Ceded Territory in Treaties of 1836, 1837, 1842 and

5 METHODS Permit and Data Collection A permit to gather miscellaneous forest products 3 on National Forest lands and selected Wisconsin State properties was required by ten of the eleven GLIFWC member tribes that ratified the MOU. Keweenaw Bay members were not required to obtain permits, but could use their tribal identification card instead. Permits were issued by tribal registration stations and GLIFWC personnel using the Native American Game and Fish Application (NAGFA ), an online permitting system (Integrated Technologies and Consulting, Fargo, ND). There were six different permit options a tribal member could select. Five kinds of Non-Timber Forest Product permits or a General Gathering permit. 1. Non-Timber Forest Product (NTFP) Gathering. This category of gathering included the following five products: conifer boughs (primarily zhingob, balsam fir), bark (e.g. wiigwaas-birch, giizhik-cedar), lodgepoles (abanzh), firewood (misan) as well as ginseng (jisens). For members interested in gathering one or more of these five products, the permit had to list each product. This permit requirement provided a means to monitor interest in gathering each of the five products. 2. General Gathering. This category authorized the gathering of all other wild plants and gathering products (see Appendix A for definitions) such as nuts, berries, wild leeks and others not covered by the NTFP. Having this permit category provided a means to monitor tribal interest in gathering forest products other than those 5 covered by the NTFP. Harvesting sugar maple sap was authorized by a different permit and process. Tribal members who wanted to establish a sugar bush on National Forest property worked with GLIFWC and the District Rangers to develop a site management plan (Appendix D) that included detailed information about the site location, accessibility and harvesting techniques. 3 Miscellaneous Forest Products: Any undomesticated species, or part thereof, of the plant and fungi kingdoms occurring in both forested and non-forested natural ecosystems including: nontimber forest product, wild plants, gathering products and includes threatened or endangered plant species. 5

6 Harvest Surveys When a tribal member obtained a gathering permit for the season, he/she was asked to complete a voluntary survey detailing gathering activities from the previous season, in this case, the season. This survey was intended to provide some information on the number of active gatherers, where gathering occured, and the quantities of specific products gathered (Appendix C). 6

7 RESULTS Number of Tribal Members Permitted For the harvest season, 2,074 tribal members received a Miscellaneous Forest Product permit for gathering in National Forest and select Wisconsin state properties (Figure 2). This is the number of tribal members who received one or more of the 6 permits described above. The number of members permitted increased by 146 persons or 8% compared to the previous harvest season (Wrobel 2014). Figure 2: Total number of tribal members who obtained at least one MFP permit during the through harvest seasons Number of Permits Issued Harvest Season 7

8 Number of Members by Tribe of Enrollment For the harvest season, as in previous years, Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) members were issued more permits than other tribes, followed by Lac du Flambeau members (Table 1). For each tribe, the number of members receiving at least one permit increased from the previous season, except for Bad River. Of the 2,074 members issued a MFP permit, the majority (1,729 members or 83%) received permits from their home tribe s registration office (Table 2). Permits were issued at all 11 tribal registration offices plus by GLIFWC and members could obtain permits from any of these offices. Eight of the tribal registration offices issued permits to members from 4-6 other tribes. GLIFWC issued permits to members from 6 tribes. Table 1: Number of members who obtained at least one MFP permit by harvest season and by tribe of enrollment. Harvest Season Tribe of Enrollment Bay Mills (BM) Bad River (BRV) Fond du Lac (FDL) Keweenaw Bay (KB) Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Lac du Flambeau (LDF) Lac Vieux Desert (LVD) Mille Lacs (MIL) Mole Lake (MLK) Red Cliff (RC) St. Croix (STC) TOTAL 1,097 1,728 1,928 2,074 8

9 Table 2: Number of members who obtained at least one MFP permit by registration office and tribe of enrollment during the harvest season. Tribe of Enrollment Bay Mills (BM) Bad River (BRV) Fond du Lac (FDL) Keweenaw Bay (KB) Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Lac du Flambeau (LDF) Registration Station* BM BRV FDL KB LCO LDF LVD MIL MLK RC STC GLIFWC TOTAL Lac Vieux Desert (LVD) Mille Lacs (MIL) Mole Lake (MLK) Red Cliff (RC) St. Croix (STC) TOTAL *Numbers in boldface font are the number of members that received their permit from their home tribe s registration office

10 Number of Members by Permit Category Of the 2,074 members who obtained at least one permit, 246 selected only NTFP permits for one or more of the five NTFPs (balsam boughs, birch bark, firewood, ginseng or lodgepoles), 250 selected only a General Gathering permit while 1,578 persons selected at least one permit from both categories (both a General Gathering permit and at least one type of NTFP permit) (Table 3). Thus, 1,824 members (88% of the total) were interested in gathering one or more of the 5 products in the NTFP category and similarly 1,828 members (88% of the total) were interested in products covered by the general gathering category. Table 3: Number of tribal members who obtained only Non-Timber Forest Product Permit(s), only a General Gathering permit or both types of permit. Number of Members Selecting a NTFP or General Gathering Category Tribe of Enrollment NTFP Category Only General Gathering Category Only Both Total Members Permitted BM BRV FDL KB LCO LDF LVD MIL MLK RC STC TOTAL ,578 2,074 10

11 Non-Timber Forest Product Category Of the 5 products, firewood was selected most often (1,715) followed by balsam boughs (1,461), birch bark (1,237), lodgepoles (1,061), and ginseng (998). Tribal members who selected a product in the NTFP category, selected an average of 3.5 NTFPs. The total number of times a product in the Non-Timber Forest Product category was listed on a permit was 6,472 (Table 4). Table 4. Number of stamps for Non-Timber Forest Products issued by product and by tribe of enrollment. Number of Times a Product in the NTFP Category was Listed on a Permit Tribe of Balsam Enrollment Boughs Bark Firewood Ginseng Lodgepoles TOTAL BM BRV FDL KB LCO ,241 LDF ,754 LVD MIL MLK RC STC TOTAL 1,461 1,237 1, ,061 6,472 11

12 Tribal Sugar Bushes Currently there are 4 sugar bushes with approved site management plans (Appendix D) on National Forest lands. Two are on the Ottawa National Forest, one operated by Keweenaw Bay and the other operated by Lac Vieux Desert, one on the Hiawatha National Forest operated by Bay Mills and one on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest operated by Lac Courte Oreilles. Harvest Survey Results When receiving a gathering permit for the season tribal members were asked to complete a paper survey (Appendix C) detailing their gathering activities from the previous season, in this case, the season. This survey was voluntary and 11% of permittees responded (229 of 2,074). The majority (62%) of responses were from Red Cliff tribal members, followed by Bad River members (15%) (Table 5). Table 5. Number of tribal members who returned surveys by tribe of enrollment. Tribe of Enrollment Number of Members who Responded Number of Members With Gathering Permits Response Rate Bay Mills (BM) % Bad River (BRV) % Fond du Lac (FDL) % Keweenaw Bay (KB) 0 4 0% Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) % Lac du Flambeau (LDF) % Lac Vieux Desert (LVD) % Mille Lacs (MIL) % Mole Lake (MLK) % Red Cliff (RC) % St. Croix (STC) % TOTAL 229 2,074 11% 12

13 Of the 12 properties listed on the survey (Appendix C), a total of 67 tribal members reported harvesting from five: the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (APIS); the Brule River State Forest (BRSF); the Copper Falls State Park (CFSP); the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (CNNF); and the Ottawa National Forest (ONF) (Table 6). Eight tribal members reported harvesting on two properties. For these five properties 52 of 67 (78%) of tribal members reported harvesting on the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest (Table 6) Members had the option to select Other Properties if gathering occurred elsewhere. Bad River, Fond du Lac, Lac Vieux Desert and Red Cliff members indicated gathering on reservation and 4 tribal members from 3 tribes reported gathering on properties owned by Bayfield and Burnett Counties. Table 6. Number of members that reported no harvest (N=162) or identified a specific property that was harvested (N=67). Tribe of Enrollment No Harvest APIS BRSF CFSP CNNF ONF OTHER TOTAL BM BRV FDL KB LCO LDF LVD MIL MLK RC STC TOTAL

14 When a tribal member offered information on what forest products were harvested and where that harvest occurred, the survey (Appendix C) also requested information on the quantities harvested. For each forest product a variety of harvest quantity ranges was provided for selection (Table 7). In order to simplify quantity estimates, a cord of firewood or one ton of balsam boughs was considered to be equivalent to one pick-up truck load. Using the midpoint of each range and the number of people who selected a range, the amount of each forest product harvested from each property was estimated. Of the surveys that were returned, tribal members reported harvesting an estimated: 276 cords of firewood; 38 tons of balsam boughs; 109 birch trees for bark; 211 lodgepole trees; and 60 ginseng plants (Table 8). Red Cliff members reported harvesting the most firewood and Mole Lake members reported harvesting the most birch bark, balsam boughs, ginseng and lodgepoles. Table 7. Selectable quantity ranges on the harvest survey. Firewood (Cords) Balsam Boughs (Tons) Harvest Quantities Birch Bark (# of Trees) Lodgepoles (# of Trees) Ginseng (# of Plants) >10 > > >20 >20 14

15 Table 8. Average quantities of each forest product harvested for each property reported on the gathering survey. Forest Products & Quantities Property Firewood (Cords) APIS BRSF CFSP CNNF ONF OTHER TOTAL BRV FDL LCO LDF LVD MLK RC STC TOTAL Balsam Boughs (Tons) APIS BRSF CFSP CNNF ONF OTHER TOTAL BRV FDL LCO LDF LVD MLK RC STC TOTAL Birch Bark (# of Trees) APIS BRSF CFSP CNNF ONF OTHER TOTAL BRV FDL LCO LDF LVD MLK RC STC TOTAL Lodgepoles (# of Trees) APIS BRSF CFSP CNNF ONF OTHER TOTAL BRV FDL LCO LDF LVD MLK RC STC TOTAL

16 Ginseng (# of Plants) APIS BRSF CFSP CNNF ONF OTHER TOTAL BRV FDL LCO LDF LVD MLK RC STC TOTAL

17 Tribal members also had the opportunity to report other forest products harvested and the property from which the harvest occurred (Table 9). There were 6 members from 4 tribes that reported harvesting other forest products on 4 properties, however, aside from 3 ash trees other quantities were not listed. Table 9. Other species reportedly gathered by tribal members from various properties. Tribe of Enrollment BRV LCO LVD RC Property of Harvest BRSF CNNF ONF Other Cedar Bark, Thornapple Root, Choke Cherry Root Pine Cones Mushrooms, Diamond Willow Mushrooms, Diamond Willow Mushrooms, Berries 3 Ash Trees 17

18 SUMMARY Number of Permits Issued For the harvest season, the number of tribal members who received a Miscellaneous Forest Product permit for gathering in National Forest and select Wisconsin state properties was 2,074 (Figure 2). Compared to the previous harvest season the number of members permitted increased by 146 persons or 8%. Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) members were issued the most permits, followed by Lac du Flambeau members (Table 1). For each tribe, the number of members receiving a permit increased from the previous season, except for Bad River which decreased by 1. Permits Issued by Registration Station While permits were issued at all 11 tribal registration offices plus by GLIFWC the majority (1,729 members or 83%) received permits from their home tribe s registration office (Table 2). Types of Permits Issued Of the 2,074 members who obtained at least one permit, 246 selected only from the NTFP category, 250 selected only the General Gathering category while 1,578 persons selected both categories (Table 3). Of the 5 products, firewood was selected most often (1,715) followed by balsam boughs (1,461), birch bark (1,237), lodgepoles (1,061), and ginseng (998). Results from the Gathering Survey Of the 2,074 tribal members that obtained a permit for the season, 229 tribal members returned a voluntary gathering survey. Of these, 67 members reported harvesting from five properties, the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest was listed by 52 of the survey respondents. 18

19 LITERATURE CITED Densmore, F Uses of Plants by the Chippewa Indians. Smithsonian Institution: Bureau of American Ethnology Annual Report No. 44: Meeker, J.E., J.E. Elias, and J.A. Heim Plants Used by the Great Lakes Ojibwe. Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Odanah, WI. Memorandum of Understanding Regarding Tribal - USDA Forest Service Relations on National Forest Lands within the Ceded Territory in Treaties of 1836, 1837, and 1842 (1998) (available at: ). Stark, K.J. and Q. Williams Gathering of Miscellaneous Forest Products on State Properties: 2-Year Implementation Evaluation. Final Report, September 2013 Stipulation for Black Bear, Migratory Birds and Wild Plants, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians et al v. State of Wisconsin, 74-C-313-C (1990). Wrobel, A Tribal Wild Plant Gathering on National Forest Lands; Harvest Season Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Odanah, WI. Administrative Report 13-03, February Wrobel, A Tribal Wild Plant Gathering on State Lands; Harvest Season Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Odanah, WI. Administrative Report 13-03, March Wrobel, A Tribal Wild Plant Gathering on National Forest; Harvest Season Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission. Odanah. Administrative Report 14-03, January

20 Appendix A Gathering Definitions 1. Bark The tough outer covering of the stems and roots of trees, shrubs and other woody plants. This includes all tissues outside the vascular cambium. 2. Bough Any Branch of a tree less than 2 inches in diameter. 3. Designated Tribal Sugarbush A specific site identified and established by the tribal conservation department, in consultation with the land manager according to Section 12.04(5), of this ordinance, for which a site management plan has been developed and for which a sugarbush site permit has been issued. 4. Designated Use Area A specific site designated and maintained by the land manager for any activity or use as part of the operation and management of public land, and includes, but is not limited to offices, buildings, campgrounds, mowed areas, picnic areas, public beaches, parking lots, trails, access and maintenance roads. 5. Firewood Any dead tree or part thereof, either standing or downed which is harvested for and to be used as fuel. 6. Gathering Products All products of miscellaneous forest products other than non-timber forest products such as: branchlets, roots, berries, fruits, nuts and seeds, ginseng and threatened and endangered species. 7. Ginseng The roots, seeds or other parts of wild American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolium or Panax quinquefolius). 8. Land Manager Any owner or other entity responsible for the management of any public land. 9. Lodgepole Any tree that is less than 5 inches DBH (diameter at breast height). 10. Miscellaneous Forest Products Any undomesticated species, or part thereof, of the plant and fungi kingdoms occurring in both forested and non-forested natural ecosystems including: non-timber forest product, wild plants, gathering products and includes threatened or endangered plant species. 20

21 11. Non-Timber Forest Products Any of the following miscellaneous forest products: bark, boughs, firewood, lodgepoles and sap as further defined in this section. 12. Public Lands Those lands managed by the Federal government, State government, County government or those enrolled in State Forest tax programs. 13. Sap The watery fluid that circulated through a tree or a plant, carrying food and other substances to the various tissues. 14. Shrub A woody perennial plant usually branched several times at or near the base giving it a bushy appearance, and is usually less than 5 meters tall. 15. Timber Any tree that is not a lodgepole. 16. Tree A woody, perennial with a single trunk that is typically unbranched at or near the base, and is usually greater than 5 meters tall. 17. Wild Plant Miscellaneous forest products that are not trees, such as herbaceous plants and shrubs. 21

22 Appendix B Sample Gathering License Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission PO. Box 9 Odanah, WI Season Game & Fish License No NAGFA ID #: 5294 Status: BRV Name: JANE A DOE Address: 24 Temp st. Odanah, WI Phone: Hunter Safety #:23 Advanced Marksmanship #:4 Trapper Identification #: 5294 GATHERING/GENERAL #89859 Gathering General Season GATHERING/ MISCELLANEOUS GATHERING/ MISCELLANEOUS GATHERING/ MISCELLANEOUS FOREST PRODUCTS FOREST PRODUCTS FOREST PRODUCTS #89858 Lodgepoles #89857 Ginseng #89856 Firewood Season Season Season GATHERING/ MISCELLANEOUS GATHERING/ MISCELLANEOUS FOREST PRODUCTS FOREST PRODUCTS #89855 Bark #89854 Balsam Boughs Season Season Please submit all harvest reports in a timely manner! I do hereby agree to abide by all laws and regulations when exercising treaty rights within ceded territory. I accept this license with the understanding and agreement that it is non-transferable, non-refundable, confers no rights of trespass, must be carried while hunting or trapping and must display it upon demand. See for more information. Signature of Applicant: Date: Licensing Agent: Date: 22

23 Appendix C Sample Gathering Survey 23

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25 Appendix D Sample Sugar Bush Site Management Plan 25

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