H143-0007
The Historical & Ecological Impacts of Dams
Abstract:
Since the 1800s, damming in Minnesota and Wisconsin has drastically changed the ecosystem and threatened manoomin (wild rice) due to the alteration of waterways. Manoomin is a sacred and sensitive plant that requires specific living conditions to thrive including natural water level fluctuations and nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient presence. This project specifically focuses on the history of dams since the 1800s on various rivers on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation. Dams are barriers that are built to stop the flow of water in a river or other body of water forming a reservoir. They hold many purposes such as; hydropower generation, irrigation, flood control or water storage. The dams on the rivers of focus were mainly built for logging purposes and hydropower generation. Through their construction, lakes were flooded, causing manoomin to drown, various fish populations to dwindle, mercury introduction to the water and lake sediments to change. Most dams in the US are owned privately and generate profit for the owners. These owners seek to control the waters which has led to conflict with tribes and the government. Certain environmental standards must be met in order for these structures to obtain licenses to operate. Although I was not able to visit the site, this research reflects extensive collecting, organizing, and discussion of documents and data on this topic with tribal members and researchers at the University of Minnesota as part of Kawe Gidda- Naanaagadawendaawin Manoomin project.