absolute michigan :: all michigan, all the time

Enter Keyword:

Project Seeks to Re-establish Wild Rice in UP

Volunteers with wild rice seed
courtesy Cedar Tree Institute

The Mining Journal has an feature on the Manoomin Project, an innovative, three-year effort dedicated to returning wild rice to the Upper Peninsula's lakes, streams and wetlands. Since the project began in 2004, 400 pounds of rice seed have been planted in seven areas in the U.P. The project was organized by the Cedar Tree Institute, the Central Lake Superior Watershed Partnership, the Marquette County Juvenile Court and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and looks like a model other areas of Michigan will want to take a close look at.

Wild rice (Manoomin, the good grain to the Anishinaabeg) is native to the the Upper Peninsula and was once common, but has dwindled due to the damming of rivers and excessive logging. It is not actually rice, but rather an aquatic grass similar to corn.

Read A quest to restore wild rice to U.P. in the Mining Journal
Cedar Tree Institute web site
Information about wild rice from Slow Food USA

Posted/updated Jul 20, 2006
by Andrew McFarlane (Absolute Michigan)