Methylmercury Sources and Distribution in the Torch Lake Watershed
This project aimed to assess the relative importance of mining-related activities,
catchment wetlands, and the lake itself as sources of methyl mercury to Torch Lake. To make this determination, concentrations and loadings in tributaries to Torch Lake were compared with previous studies of streams in the region. A mass balance for inflows and outflows of total and methyl mercury for Torch Lake was constructed based on project measurements of MeHg concentrations to clarify the major sources. A bioaccumulation model was created to assess whether measured concentrations of methyl mercury in Torch Lake are adequate to cause the Hg concentrations reported for fish from this lake.
Assessment of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community's Fish Consumption
Between May 29, 2015 and December 22, 2015, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) Natural Resources Department conducted in-person interviews based on a survey instrument to determine fish consumption rates and practices by members of the KBIC. Results from this assessment will enable KBIC to make informed risk-based and regulatory decisions that are protective of the health of its members.
Assessment of Risk to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community from Cumulative Toxicity of Chemical Contaminants in Lake Superior, Torch Lake, and Portage Lake Fish
For tribal communities, the value of small inland and Great Lake (GL) fisheries is heightened due to community reliance on the resource for subsistence and income, and also for cultural heritage and traditions. Toxicants disrupt cultural practices, and prevent the transmission of generational cultural knowledge (Gagnon 2016; Hoover 2013; NEJAC and Council) 2002; O’Neill 2007; Ranco et al. 2007). Thus contaminants impair Indigenous community ecological and cultural health and transgenerational education, in addition to potentially impairing human health
Study of Fish Contaminants in Lakes in the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Fishing Territory
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) is the successor in interest of the L’Anse and Ontonagon Bands of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, and signatories to the 1842 Treaty with the Chippewa (7 Stat. 591) and the 1854 Treaty with the Chippewa (10 Stat. 1109). Our community has long relied on subsistence harvesting throughout the landscape, and the fish harvest is particularly central to our harvesting lifeways. However, we are also aware that fish are contaminated with harmful bioaccumulate toxicants, and at this time, there are substantial lacks in fish contaminant data, cumulative toxicity impacts to human health, and outreach materials to guide safe cultural fishing practices in our community. In working with our research partners, we understand that there is an urgent need to estimate the cumulative toxicity of contaminants in fish throughout the study region and to evaluate statistical predictors of cumulative toxicity. Such research can provide decision-making guidance for KBIC, informing environmental policy, management strategies and educational initiatives, all of which supports the health and wellbeing of our fish-reliant community. In order to address these priorities, KBIC requests funding assistance from the Environmental Protection Agency to support this research with Michigan Technological University (“Michigan Tech”) and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC). In what follows, we provide the study’s rationale and describe a potential workplan.
