Leech Lake Tribal College’s Indigenous Science program’s two longest-standing research projects are co-located near Sunken Lake in the Cutfoot-Sioux Experimental Forest near Inger. In partnership with the United States Forest Service since 2017, student interns have conducted annual vegetation surveys to assess the effects of prescribed fire on the abundance of wild blueberries. LLTC student interns have collected data on blueberry production, forest fuel loads, and tree and shrub species composition before and after fire. In 2022, we expanded our vegetation surveys to assess the effects of fire on the abundance of traditional medicinal plants such as wintergreen.
These on-the-ground surveys are accompanied by a long-term environmental monitoring dataset. LLTC has deployed atmospheric and soil sensors at Cutfoot-Sioux Experimental Forest since 2018. The sensors have since accrued millions of data points related to soil moisture and temperature at different depths, wind speed, precipitation, light availability, and more. All of these data have been collected both before and after prescribed fire, allowing us to explore the interplay of the elements of fire, water, earth, and air in forest ecosystems. With this data, we may investigate possible changes in soil chemistry and water infiltration before and after fire.
This research project supports the efforts of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Division of Resource Management to restore cultural burning practices to the landbase after a century of fire suppression. Restoring “good fire” may help support populations of traditional food and medicine such as blueberries and wintergreen, decrease the abundance of pests such as ticks, and also reduce the chances of catastrophic wildfire. The Sunken Lake projects set a role model and precedent for our partners to incorporate Ojibwe traditional ecological knowledge into research methodology and forest management plans.
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