Wild rice season holds promise despite shaky start

Initial reports from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and tribal biologists suggested wild rice conditions ranging from fair to great across Northern and central Minnesota.

The wild rice season opened Aug. 15 and runs until Sept. 30. But the rice doesn't follow the state's schedule. It's illegal to harvest green or unripe wild rice, regardless of whether the season is open. So far, some harvesters have noticed the rice is slower to ripen and more sparse than previous years.

Weather plays an important role in wild rice growth. Rice is slower to grow in cooler weather, and ripens faster in warmer weather.

“Things started out looking great on a lot of lakes, but we've had some weather,” said Ann Geisen, Minnesota DNR wildlife lake specialist. “Even though we had a really warm summer, we did hit a cool spell or a cooler spell in August, and that might have slowed the ripening down a little bit.”

Lorie Shaull

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KAXE

Storms also impact how much rice is available. Geisen said storms on Aug. 20 brought hail that damaged wild rice beds on some lakes. In certain areas, heavy winds blew ripe rice into the water before it could be harvested.

But that isn’t always considered bad.

“These things are all part of the natural system. We as Anishinaabe appreciate what is available to us,” said Kelly Applegate, commissioner of natural resources for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. “We look at that as that's the system telling us, you know, that it needed a break and it's retaining some of the rice for itself.”

Applegate said rice chiefs and resource biologists combine cultural practices and resource management techniques to monitor the rice year-round. This time of year is particularly important.

“It's one of the most sacred ceremonial times for us because manoomin – wild rice – is food, it's medicine, it's a cultural identity for us as Ojibwe Anishinaabe,” Applegate said.

Amid a storage drought across Northern Minnesota, Applegate said there have been reports of low water levels. Shallow waters can pose a challenge for polers, the person tasked with using a long pole to push a canoe along the rice beds while someone else knocks rice into the boat.

Contributed

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Lorie Shaull

“Some of the rice I’ve seen out there, it looks really good in terms of having a good crop out there, but the question is, ‘Is there enough water to float the canoes underneath it to harvest it?’ So I think that’s what the biggest challenge will be for harvesters this year,” Applegate said.

Leanna Goose went ricing on Boy Lake within the Leech Lake Reservation on Wednesday, Aug. 26, and experienced this firsthand.

“I really had to use my muscles to get out there,” Goose said.

From the shore, the rice beds appeared full. But as Goose got on the water, she found herself among bare patches on the water.

“We had to maneuver to stay in the good rice. But when I was a kid, I just remember all the rice being good, and we didn't really have to maneuver. I remember it being so thick sometimes we couldn't even pole through it. I know the DNR classifies this as a good year, but I would say looking at past years, the rice is definitely not as good as it used to be,” Goose said.

Goose attributes the changes to climate change, invasive species and water pollution.

Even with some challenges, Goose said she had a beautiful day on the rice bed and a successful harvest.

“It's really, like, healing for the soul to get out there, so I’m always grateful when I do get to get out there and connect with manoomin,” she said.

Stella Mayerhoff is a Report for America corps member, covering Minnesota’s headwaters region for KAXE in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Report for America places talented journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.