This project aims to develop an updated LAC courte oreilles tribal wetlands program plan from the LAC courte oreilles wetlands conservation plan (2000)

The Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians will receive $272,645 under a cooperative agreement from the Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 to develop an updated Tribal Wetlands Program Plan. Funded through the Regional Wetland Program Development Grants program (CFDA 66.461), the agreement will support four objectives. Staff will attend wetland meetings and trainings to ensure quality monitoring using current scientific methods. Rapid assessments of five reference wetlands will determine condition changes. Eight floristic quality assessments will be conducted across four wetland types on the reservation. Wetlands mapping within reservation boundaries will also be completed. The intended beneficiaries are Lac Courte Oreilles Band members. The agreement aims to build the Tribe's wetlands management program and runs from July 1, 2021 to October 1, 2023.

The WPP will be submitted to the EPA for approval and accomplished with four objectives. The first will be for staff to attend wetland meetings and trainings to ensure quality monitoring of indicators with current scientific findings and methodologies. The second will be conducting rapid assessments for the five reference wetlands indicated in the wetlands conservation plan to determine wetland condition and analyze if there any changes in extent or condition. The third will be to conduct eight floristic quality assessments in the four wetland types which are found on the reservation. The final objective will be mapping current wetlands within the reservation boundaries. The intended beneficiaries of this program will be members of the LAC courte oreilles band of lake superior chippewa indians.