Photo By Melanie Peterson | (left) Valentine Mgeni, Prairie Island Indian Community secretary, (center) Michael...... read more read more
On a hot summer day in June, a group of St. Paul District employees and representatives from the Prairie Island Indian Community, ventured in boats to Buffalo Slough, near Red Wing, Minnesota, to celebrate the Sturgeon Lake Tribal Partnership Program with a ceremonial tree planting.
The project was the culmination of four years of work and was the first Tribal Partnership Program project completed in the Mississippi Valley Division and the second nationwide.
Col. Eric Swenson, district commander, gave brief remarks, before offering tobacco. “When you offer tobacco, it often comes with an ask. My ask is that we can open our minds and hearts to this partnership and connection to the earth. I ask that we can actively listen to each other and grow this relationship for the betterment of all the people who depend on this island and this great river,” Swenson said.
Michael Childs Jr., Prairie Island Indian Community treasurer, spoke and offered a tribal prayer. “In my lifetime, I’ve seen the erosion of this island. It’s quite stark to see how things have changed. It’s good to see some of the restoration work,” Childs said.
About 25 people helped to plant bur oak and hackberry trees under the instruction of Andy Meier, Corps forester. There was a mix of employees from the Corps and members of the tribe, including several children that participated.
The $1.3 million project is important to reestablishing muskrat, beaver and deer habitat and protect a large bald eagle’s nest. It also reestablishes floodplain forest habitat with native trees and eradicates (or reduces) invasive reed canary grass. The project is vital to our nation in protecting and preserving culturally significant land.
The restoration and stabilization efforts of the island further protects Buffalo Slough where there are at least 29 mussel species, of which the density tripled to 1.7 million mussels from 2010-2017.
The tribal project partnership agreement was signed in February 2021 and construction began in July 2021. Construction was completed by the St. Paul District’s maintenance and repair crew and the rest of the trees were planted by Corps staff and a contractor.
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| Date Taken: | 07.05.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 07.05.2023 11:39 |
| Story ID: | 448557 |
| Location: | RED WING, MN, US |
| Web Views: | 94 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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