The combined impacts of climate change and intensive agriculture on manoomin PSI (wild rice), a culturally critical resource and relative for indigenous communitiesproject dates: 4 1 2025 through 3 31…

This $449,978 Cooperative Agreement awarded by the U.S. Geological Survey under the National and Regional Climate Adaptation Science Centers (CFDA 15.820) program will support a project titled "The Combined Impacts of Climate Change and Intensive Agriculture on Manoomin (Wild Rice), a Culturally Critical Resource and Relative for Indigenous Communities."

The project aims to evaluate whether climate change is exacerbating water quality impairments caused by intensive agriculture, which is negatively impacting manoomin (also known as wild rice), a culturally significant resource for Indigenous communities in the Upper Midwest. Activities will include water quality measurements, hydrological monitoring and modeling, and interviews with cultural knowledge holders in the Otter Tail watershed in northwestern Minnesota. Expected outcomes include an assessment of climate-driven water quality impacts on manoomin, as well as maps identifying areas of present and future vulnerability. These results will be shared with the White Earth Nation and other regional tribal partners to support the development of climate adaptation strategies for protecting this critical cultural resource.

Activities

This project will generate data that can help tribes throughout the upper midwest build resilient management plans for protecting manoomin psia critical cultural resource and an indicator sentinel species within wetland ecosystems. Project activities will include a combination of water quality measurements, hydrological monitoring and modeling, and interviews with cultural knowledge holders in the otter tail watershed in northwestern minnesota. These activities will allow for the evaluation of combined impacts of climate change and agriculture on manoomin PSI lakes and streams.deliverables and expected outcomes:expected outcomes from the project include an assessment of whether climate change isaccelerating the transport of agricultural pollutants to lakes through surface runoff and or groundwater pathways, and whether these water quality impairments are harming manoomin PSI. Deliverables will include maps indicating areas in the otter tail watershed with present-day and future vulnerabilities to climate-driven water quality impairments. These results will be shared at knowledge exchange sessions with white earth community members as well as with a wider tribal-university collaboration network across the upper midwest.intended beneficiary(IES):this project will benefit tribal community members who rely on clean water in their lakes and streams, on and off-reservation, today and into the future. Tribal resource managers from the white earth nation and other regional tribes will be able to use the projects findings to develop water monitoring protocols, agricultural best practices, and water quality policies that anticipate and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Subrecipient activities

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