Buffalo Reef is a natural cobble feature in Lake Superior, located just off the eastern edge of the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. of Michigan. The reef has historically maintained invaluable spawning habitat for fish species such as lake trout and lake whitefish. These remarkable habitat features are threatened by migrating stamp sands produced by harmful mining activities that began in the late 1800s.

 

The Treaty of 1842, commonly known as the “Copper Treaty,” ceded millions of acres of land to the United States in exchange for rights to hunt, fish, and gather within the Ceded Territory. Buffalo Reef has always been considered culturally significant harvesting grounds for local tribal communities. Today, Tribal, State, Federal, and Academic partnerships are combining efforts to mitigate damages and ultimately restore Buffalo Reef as the ecological resource that has sustained both tribal and non-tribal communities for generations. Below you can watch a short video about Buffalo Reef.