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Matt Doll, Minnesota Environmental Partnership
Right now, the still-frigid waters of northern Minnesota are dotted with sleeping seeds, waiting for warmer temperatures to spring into growth. These wild rice plants will rise up out of the water and should be ready for harvest in August and September. Harvesters, especially from Minnesota’s Indigenous communities, will head out on boats and continue the longstanding tradition of gathering this nutritionally-dense wild food that grows on water.
Unless, of course, the rice plants are drowned by excessive rain, or poisoned by industrial waste and pesticides, or carved up by boats speeding through or near their vulnerable beds.
Wild rice has kept humans in Minnesota fed for thousands of years and is a vital part of the food chain for many animals. Called Manoomin by the Ojibwe/Chippewa Nations and Psíŋ by the Dakota Nations, this natural crop is also honored as Minnesota’s state grain.
But honoring it as a state symbol is one thing – the way Minnesota has allowed human activities to cause its decline for a century is quite another. Wild rice once thrived in most of Minnesota’s counties, but climate change, pesticide drift, industrial activities like mining, and development on lakes has progressively cut its range more and more.
Several of Minnesota’s tribal nations have the right to harvest wild rice and other resources guaranteed in their treaties with the United States. But these rights don’t mean much if wild rice isn’t there to be gathered. In order to meet our treaty obligations and protect our vulnerable ecosystems, we need real solutions to preserve our wild rice waters.
Fortunately, at least some legislators are stepping up this session. They’ve introduced SF 1247/HF 2134, known as the Wild Rice Act, to help alleviate several of the threats this plant faces.
First, the bill requires the DNR to identify and publicize a map of all wild rice waters located within the state, enabling the bill’s protective measures. It requires state and local government agencies to ensure that wild rice waters are protected when they issue permits for projects that may impact those waters.
The legislation also strengthens state practices on pesticides to help keep them out of vulnerable wild rice waters. It would also incorporate wild rice protection into pesticide training programs.
Finally, the bill introduces new protections against driving a motorized boat through uncultivated wild rice beds (as opposed to cultivated paddies) or creating a wake within 150 feet of a bed.
MEP wholeheartedly supports these provisions as part of a larger push against threats to wild rice, including climate change and industrial pollution. The Rise & Repair Coalition, which includes several MEP members, is strongly advocating for the bill, including at their rally earlier this month.
Unfortunately, as of this writing, neither the Senate or the House version of this bill has been scheduled for a hearing at the Capitol. It may face strong political headwinds – industries that have contributed to wild rice’s decline are likely to resist policies that would make them change their ways.
We hope SF 1247/HF 2134 will be heard before the end of this tumultuous session. Wild rice is sacred and valued by Minnesota’s Indigenous communities. It’s a symbol of our Great Outdoors. It’s a keystone of what makes Minnesota’s wildlife and waters so special. Let’s do what we can to keep it that way.