Lake Superior: Natural Resource, Culture, and Climate Change
Coming soon in 2020!
TBA


Stay tuned for 2020 dates! 

Details


Within the Lake Superior basin, global climate change is expected to cause increased annual temperature, decreased snow, and more frequent and extreme weather events. The Lake Superior Ojibwe have traditional ecological knowledge of the environment that has evolved over thousands of years, providing long term place-based supporting evidence of a changing climate. These changes are likely to affect local economies dependent upon the region's cultural and natural resources such as subsistence and recreational fishing, forest product manufacturing, wildlife, tourism, recreation and agriculture. Lake Superior tribal and coastal communities are already experiencing climate challenges and are implementing culturally relevant strategies to become more climate resilient.

​Registration Information


Registration for the 2020 workshop will be coming soon. Please stay tuned!

To be added to our mailing list for updates on the 2020 workshop, please email hfrater@uwsp.edu.

Workshop Details


This workshop provides field experience-based climate change training within Lake Superior's coastal communities and tribal lands. You will learn effective communication and response strategies that integrate qualitative and quantitative knowledge to increase climate literacy and promote resiliency--no matter what the community, audience, or location.

Workshop Outcomes

By participating in this workshop, you will be able to:
  • Explain and apply different qualitative and quantitative methods and techniques for measuring and monitoring climate change impacts on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
  • Apply backcasting and forecasting models to assess the impacts of past and future climate impacts in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and key indicator species, supporting human cultures and economies. 
  • Engage, communicate, and build relationships for future collaborations with tribal natural resource and cultural professionals, governmental agencies, and community decision-makers.

Who Should Attend

This workshop is designed to expand climate change literacy and leadership for natural resource professionals and educators by demonstrating how to integrate climate science with place-based economic and cultural perspectives that will resonate with learners and engage them in climate change mitigation or adaptive decision-making. By integrating scientific knowledge with economic and culturally relevant place-based research, and innovative natural resources management outreach methodologies, participants will gain an understanding of climate impacts and needed adaptations in integrated natural resources management and decision-making. This culturally relevant climate literacy approach will help you build community-based responses, based on a systems approach, to mitigate or adapt to climate change.

Workshop Itinerary ​


A tentative workshop itinerary can be found here.

​Group Leaders

Shiba Kar 

Dr. Shiba Kar is an Assistant Professor of Human Dimensions of Natural Resource Management at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point with a joint appointment as a Sustainable Energy Specialist with the UW-Extension. With prior experience of teaching and researching climate change issues, Dr. Kar's research interests include socioeconomic, environmental, and policy factors of sustainable energy, climate adaptation and community development. In this workshop, he will help with coordinating and facilitating meetings and discussions with various natural resource agencies, local communities and other stakeholders.






Cathy Techtmann

Cathy is a Professor of Community Resource Development and the UW-Extension Environmental Outreach State Specialist. She holds a M.S. in Natural Resource Management-Environmental Interpretation and secondary teaching degree in Biology.

Cathy specializes in applying interpretive program design to make environmental issues "come alive" for youth and adult audiences through on-the-water and land-based interpretive programs. She creates environmental education curricula, professional development institutes, interpretive exhibits, videos, websites.  Cathy provided educational leadership in freshwater estuary programming leading to the 2010 Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve designation and continues to teach about culture and ecology of coastal wetlands.  She directs the Gikinoo'wizhiwe Onji Waaban (Guiding for Tomorrow) or "G-WOW" Changing Climate, Changing Culture Initiative in partnership with the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest-US Forest Service, Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, and National Park Service. G-WOW is a unique climate change service-learning model that integrates place-based evidence and Ojibwe traditional ecological knowledge with science to promote climate service literacy for all cultures.  Recently she has been collaborating on a leadership development initiative for tribal organizations.

Cathy received the 2012 UW-Colleges and Extension Chancellor's Award for Excellence, the 2013 US Forest Service's Eastern Region Honor Award for "Courageous Conservation", the 2015 UW-Extension Distinguished Service Award, and the 2016 Nominee to the Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources. She is a member of the UW-Extension Native American Task Force and a NOAA Climate Steward.


Invited Presenters Include

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission
GLIFWC_HR.jpgGreat Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) represents 11 Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan who reserve hunting, fishing, and gathering rights in the 1837, 1842, and 1854 treaties with the United States government. 

GLIFWC provides natural resource management expertise, conservation enforcement, legal and policy analysis, and public information services in support of the exercise of treaty rights during well-regulated, off-reservation seasons throughout the treaty ceded territories. 

GLIFWC's Climate Division's research assesses climate vulnerability of species with cultural importance for the Lake Superior Ojibwe and integrates traditional ecological knowledge, language, and specific ecological knowledge. 


GLIFWS Biological Services Division is researching climate impacts on fish and wildlife and developing natural resource management adaptation strategies.

Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe
Red Cliff.pngThe Red Cliff Band has a rich history that goes as far back as the Ice Age. The Red Cliff Band has a total of 7,021 enrolled tribal members. Their reservation is 14 miles long, located at the top of the Bayfield Peninsula, on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin. The village of Red Cliff, the location of tribal offices and businesses, is three miles north of Bayfield, Wisconsin. 

The Red Cliff Tribal Historic Preservation Office monitors and coordinates compliance with both federal and tribal laws to ensure the protection and preservation of the Red Cliff's historical and cultural properties. 

The Red Cliff Natural Resource Department’s tribal fish hatchery is researching climate impacts on the Lake Superior fishery and developing adaptation strategies. The Red Cliff Health Department is actively addressing climate impacts on tribal members.

Bad River Tribal Natural Resources Department
Bad river NR.jpgThe Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Ojibwe is located on a 125,000+ acre reservation in Northern Wisconsin on the south shore of Lake Superior (known by the tribe as Gichi Gami) in Ashland and Iron Counties. This area includes the Bad River-Kakagon Sloughs, an over 10,000 acre wetland with unique and rare features, such as vast beds of wild rice (Manomin) which has been designated international RAMSAR site of international importance. This culturally important resource is threatened by climate change and other impacts.

The Bad River Tribal Natural Resources and Historic Preservation Departments provide technical assistance in the protection, development, and management of the natural resources throughout the Bad River Reservation and its treaty fishing waters in Lake Superior, insuring access to traditional pursuits for tribe members. The Bad River Band is concerned about how changing climatic and environmental conditions are affecting key cultural resources, such as wild rice. A changing climate is expected to aggravate existing stressors on ecosystems, as well as introduce new challenges to management. The Bad River Band is also taking a leadership role in climate and forestry ecosystem adaptation research with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science.

Bad River Food Sovereignty
bad river.pngFood sovereignty is important to community and cultural sustainability, especially with climate change. There are many current food sovereignty projects occurring in Bad River, including the Bad River Gitiganing Community Garden project, which works to feed the people of Bad River in ancient gardening sites. The tribe is also working on sharing resources and knowledge with members on how to harvest and prepare wild foods, and providing them with resources to support this.

Ashland and Bayfield City and Business Leaders
The coastal communities of Ashland and Bayfield are on the forefront to addressing climate change and adapting to its impacts. Invited community and business leaders will provide place-based examples of how climate change is affecting their infrastructure and business sustainability, and provide practical examples of adaptation strategies.
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Cancellation Policy


Cancellations occurring before May 29 will be assessed a 20% cancellation fee. Cancellations occurring between May 30 and June 11, will be assessed a 50% cancellation fee. Cancelling on or after June 12, no refund.

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Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities will be made if requested at least two weeks in advance. 
Please contact Continuing Education at 715-346-3838 or uwspceweb@uwsp.edu.