2022 Wild Rivers Forestry Conference

The annual Wild Rivers Forestry Conference will be held virtually on March 24, 2022, with in-person networking opportunities throughout the watershed on March 25. The conference is designed for local, state, federal, and private foresters, land managers and other natural resources professionals, and landowners interested in maintaining a healthy forested watershed.

Topics for this conference will include:

• Sustainable forest management
• Soil Regeneration
• Diversity and Inclusion in the forestry world
• and more!

View the 2022 Wild Rivers Forestry Conference flyer here!

This conference is in partnership with the MN Woodland Owner Workshop Team which includes the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Forestry Association, Minnesota State Horticultural Society, Minnesota Women’s Woodland Network, and St. John’s Outdoor University.

Cost: $40 registration fee

CFE credits are available.

Keynote: Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad: A Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu for Indigenous-led Climate Adaptation

Indigenous cultures are rooted in specific locations and shaped by relationships with plants, animals, and other beings in the natural world. As climate change continues, these relationships will be challenged in many ways. Current climate adaptation planning tools and efforts fail to address the inherent sovereignty of nature: a perspective commonly understood and protected by most indigenous efforts. In this presentation we will discuss the background behind creating Dibaginjigaadeg Anishinaabe Ezhitwaad, a Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu. This adaptation planning tool prioritizes indigenous knowledge, culture, science and perspectives as it incorporates western science best practices and approaches. It is intended to help Tribes with adaptation planning, and to help facilitate culturally appropriate conversations between Tribes and non-Tribal partners.

Maangwan odoodeman, miskwaabekong odoonjibaa, Ziigwanikwe izhinikaazo. Ziigwanikwe (Katy Bresette) is a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe from the loon clan in Northern Wisconsin. Ziigwanikwe has lived and worked in various communities as an Ojibwe educator. She now resides in Northern Michigan with her partner and their children, exploring Ojibwe food and life ways. She and her partner run Dynamite Hill Farms in their efforts to reclaim an Ojibwe centered way of life.

Gidigaa bizhiw (Jerry Jondreau) hails from the Wiikwedong, or the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), where he currently resides with his family. Jerry began working with his Tribe’s natural resources department as a technician and has been involved in the responsibility of developing strong relationships to the beings of this place ever since. His family comes from a long line of sugar makers and as the owner and operator of Dynamite Hill Farms, he and his family continue to exercise their treaty rights and continuously work to strengthen their relationship with and reinforce their responsibilities to our natural world.

Kristen Schmitt is a climate change adaptation specialist working with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science. She works with a variety of partners to create new tools and to plan and execute trainings that help natural resources professionals and others integrate climate change into their work.

Questions? Please contact Nichole Henger at nhenger@wildriversconservancy.org or call 715-483-3300 Ext. 23

REGISTER HERE

Thank you to our generous event sponsor!

ADDITIONAL SPONSORSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE. PLEASE CONTACT BETHANY COX, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, FOR MORE INFORMATION.