Grand Council Treaty #3 Watershed Management Planning & Leveraging Partnerships
Background u Grand Council Treaty #3 is a Political and Administration Organization for the 28 First Nations of Treaty #3 u 55,000 square miles, interprovincial u Lake of the Woods, Rainy Lake, S hoal Lake, Winnipeg River, thousands of smaller lakes u Protecting the future of our people by ensuring the protection, preservation, and enhancement of Inherent and Treaty rights u Comprised of Political, Education, Health, Justice, and Territorial planning departments u Department mandates direct proj ects implemented amongst Treaty #3 First Nations.
Territorial Planning Unit u Work with Treaty #3 Leadership to protect the lands, waters, and resources within the 55,000 square miles that make up the Treaty #3 Territory u Current Proj ects: Manito Aki Inakoigaawin (MAI), Resource Revenue S haring, Mining + Forestry/ Natural Recourses, Fishing + Trapping, and Climate Change Education u Watershed Management Planning u Nibi Declaration, Database, Community Based Monitoring, Community Outreach
Watershed Management Planning u First came about in 2016 u Former TPU Director’s idea, not brought to resolution but still considered a focus u Funding acquired from OTF to create water specialist position u Dedicated position allowed for community visits u S even communities visited –collaborative approach to WMP building. u Participants asked a series of questions along with discussions u Community members answers and input directly shape priorities and creation of WMP .
What is Water?
Water Issues Faced by Treaty #3
Watershed Management Goals?
Watershed Management Model - 2017
Watershed Management Model - 2019
Community Outreach & Education u More community engagement u Visit all 28 communities for more input to continue to shape WMP u Continued meetings –one meeting/ visit not enough, continued meetings for more effective support u Emergency planning education u Educate and work with communities to create emergency preparedness plans, will have a focus on flooding. u Funding through ECCC for shoreline clean-ups u Turned into school education program that teaches students how to monitor water quality from local waters and act as water stewards.
Ceremony –Nibi Declaration u Guided by the Women’s Council in partnership with Decolonizing water u Initial idea came from Women’s Council and brought to Decolonizing Water u R egional Gatherings to draft a water declaration u National Gathering to share draft and get feedback u 1 women, 1 elder, 1 youth u S upported through Assembly and brought to Ceremony
Water Declaration Principles
Water Declaration T eam
Governance - Database u Initial idea was to share maps, models, and data. Vision changed based on Environmental Chiefs input. u Data base for natural resource proj ect information, MAI, past/ present TPU proj ects, etc. u Accessible by all Treaty #3 members u Private data has restricted access. Ex. Community monitoring data only accessible to community members from respective community. u Currently in early stages of creation with Firelight
Community Based Monitoring: Overview u Idea for CBM program came from feedback from community visits in 2016 u Funding received and officially began in 2018 u 2018 - pilot year for the program u T wo First Nations participating –Niisachewan Anishinaabe Nation and Naotkamegwanning First Nation u 2019 –open letter of interest sent to all communities for j oining program u Naongashiing, S hoal Lake #39, Northwest Angle #33, S agkeeng interested
Community Based Monitoring: Overview u Collaborative approach to addressing monitoring priorities and creating plans u Priorities in water quality and fish health u Goals for CBM program u 1. Protect and preserve traditional waters u 2. Collect baseline data and develop monitoring across the Territory u 3. Prioritize youth engagement u Incorporate both Traditional Knowledge and Western S cience into monitoring plans
Community Based Monitoring: Planning u Monitoring for basic water quality parameters and mercury levels in fish u Basic Parameters: water temperature, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH u Mercury Levels: fish tissue sample analysis u Monitoring to be kept as simple as possible. u Data will be collected accurately and consistently u Monitoring knowledge can be easily carried forward u Equipment used: YS I Pro Plus meter, gps, datasheets
Community Based Monitoring: Capacity Building u Capacity Building: TPU partnership with the International Institute for S ustainable Development: Experimental Lakes Area (ELA) u Offer week long capacity building workshops at field ELA site and led by ELA scientists u Cover equipment use & maintenance, hands on use of monitoring equipment, fish dissections/ tissue sampling, monitoring best practices, etc. u Continued support offered by TPU post ELA workshops u TPU staff accompany new participants for data collection to offer continued support/ guidance on monitoring u TPU has worked with ELA to have CBM monitoring plans/ protocols professionally proofed
Community Based Monitoring: R esults u To Date: u Niisachewan: 27 unique sites, 130 sites total, covering area of ~ 3000 hectares u Naotkamegwanning: 43 unique sites, 144 sites total, covering area of ~3000 hectares u Naongashiing: 8 unique sites, 8 sites total, *still in early stages of development* u All data collected is compiled into Grand Council database and analyzed/ discussed in reports given back to respective communities u All data is compared against environmental quality guidelines set by CCME u Communities receive digital and physical copies of data u Data mapped
Dalles CBM 2018
Whitefish Bay CBM 2018
Community Based Monitoring: Mercury Testing u Participating communities collect fish tissue samples from target species u 25 samples per community from Walleye, Pike, etc. u Tissue samples collected from fish caught for Fall Feasts and from commercial fisheries u Avoids killing fish for j ust for samples u S amples frozen and sent to University of Manitoba for testing u Results entered in Grand Council database and given back to communities
Community Based Monitoring: Challenges and Moving Forward u Funding –a challenge for any program. u New funding from ECCC EcoAction program: focusing on shoreline clean-ups and continued expansion of CBM program u Continued participant interest in program u Teach-the-teacher method to capacity building u Expansion of program u Current method slow going, looking to change it up for 2020 to reach more communities u Acquire funding for invasive species monitoring network u Create new partnerships to enhance and expand the CBM program
Other TPU Hats u International Rainy Lake of the Woods Watershed Control Board (IRL WWCB) u Chief Brian Perrault (Couchiching) sits on board, Lucas King (TPU) is alternate u Lucas apart of working group that’s helped structure and Adaptive Management Committee u International Multi-Agency(IMA) Agreement u Lucas is a member of their Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) u Grand Council will be invited to become a signatory on IMA u Will lead to future environmental proj ects, funding, and other opportunities u Kenora Environmental Advisory Committee u Chris is a member of the committee u Give Treaty #3 perspective on discussions and proposed ideas
Leveraging Partnerships u Analyze your own organization to identify gaps in capacity, knowledge, funding, etc. u Look to create partnerships that help address these u Maintain relationships u When not actively working on proj ect together keep in periodic contact u Look to further develop/ evolve current partnerships u Always be looking to create/ be open about creating new partnerships u Networking matters
Watershed Management Planning: Recap & Moving Forward u Collaborative and integrated approach to creation of watershed management planning for Treaty #3 u Allowed for input from Leadership, Elders, youth, and many others to reflect the priorities of Treaty #3 members u Inclusive of Treaty #3 ceremony, spirituality, and traditions u Adaptive in approach u Areas of focus updated overtime to properly reflect and address priorities u S till a work in progress u Will continue to be shaped by Treaty #3 members for its entirety
Watershed Management Planning: Recap & Moving Forward u S hort term goals: More exposure for Declaration, functional database, expansion of CBM program, community visits u Mid term goals: More fleshed out Grand Council watershed management plan, all communities have their own watershed management plan u Community input will help shape both u Long term goals: Dual/ Collaborative governance of Treaty #3 watersheds
Questions? Chris Herc Environmental Monitoring Coordinator Grand Council Treaty #3 Environment.monitor@ treaty3.ca Office Phone: 807-548-4214 (ext 206)
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