2025 Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference

AUTHORS: Frank Nelson, Missouri Department of Conservation

ABSTRACT: Biodiversity loss, food insecurity, and climate change are inherently connected challenges. These threats and their potential solutions have both global and local significance. For example, wetlands, which are one of the most productive and biodiverse habitats, have been drastically reduced worldwide. This same food system that has contributed to wetland loss is itself quite fragile, as 75% of global food is dependent on only 12 crops and five animals. Without natural buffers, like wetlands, commodities within floodplains are at risk of natural hazards as the frequency and severity of droughts and floods are increasing worldwide. Finding solutions that are more resilient requires greater integration of social and ecological systems.

Zooming into the Midwest, the states like Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri, have similarly lost the majority of their historic wetlands through agricultural conversion and urban development. The focal point to preserve what is left and make strides in wetland restoration for the past 90 years has been centered around concern for waterfowl populations and the tradition of hunting. Although progress has been made, this focus isn’t enough to offset on-going alterations, continuing pressures, and remaining separation of land and water.

Native wetland flora and fauna have deep cultural histories around the world and even here in the Midwest. Future wetland conservation cannot just occur in remote public places but must also be integrated into lived spaces. What if rather than just providing wildlife habitat, wetland management encapsulated the tending of water gardens? Perhaps by reframing our connections to wetlands, acknowledging overlooked histories, and including underserved communities we can identify new opportunities where diverse food systems, flood resiliency, and biodiversity can be better intertwined int the future. This presentation will introduce the idea of viewing wetlands as working water gardens rather than just marshes for waterfowl.

AUTHORS:  Kathleen Smith, Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission

ABSTRACT:  Wetlands hold immense importance for the Ojibwe people, particularly in relation to nibi (water), connects all orders of creation and manoomin (wild rice), which is central to their culture and spirituality. Manoomin, native to the Great Lakes region, is more than just a food source; it is a sacred entity deeply intertwined with the identity, traditions, and sustenance of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people.
According to Anishinaabe oral tradition, their ancestors were guided by a prophecy to find “the place where food grows on water,” leading them to the Great Lakes region where manoomin flourishes. The term “manoomin” translates to “good berry,” reflecting its esteemed status. Harvesting manoomin is a ceremonial act, performed using traditional methods that have been passed down through generations. This process involves using canoes and wooden sticks to gently knock the rice into the boat, ensuring the sustainability of the rice beds.
The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) plays a crucial role in preserving and promoting the cultural and ecological significance of manoomin. GLIFWC collaborates with member tribes to protect manoomin habitats, advocate for sustainable harvesting practices, and conduct research to support the health of wild rice beds.
Wetlands are essential to the growth and sustainability of manoomin. These ecosystems provide important food and medicines. Wetlands also support a diverse group of plant and animal species, contributing to the overall health and resilience of the environment. The Anishinaabe view wetlands as sacred spaces, integral to their cultural and spiritual practices.
Manoomin is integral to various cultural practices and ceremonies. It is offered in spiritual rituals, feasts, and funerals, symbolizing a connection to the land and the ancestors. The preservation of wetlands is thus not only an environmental concern but also a cultural and spiritual imperative for the Ojibwe people.

AUTHORS: Tracy Hames, Wisconsin Wetlands Association

ABSTRACT: This presentation will tell the story of the return of Wapato (Sagittaria spp.) to wetlands within the Yakama Nation’s Reservation in eastern Washington state. Wapato has been utilized by the Yakama People since time immemorial. Past disturbances related to agricultural development and other land and water use alterations, however, resulted in the near extirpation of these plants on the Yakama Reservation. When healthy Wapato beds began to return to wetlands on the Reservation, the return of these plants was unplanned, but not unexpected. The story of how the Yakama Nation helped bring about this return begins in the 1970’s when Yakama cultural leaders called for the protection and restoration of the heavily disturbed wetland and floodplain landscapes in the agricultural portion of the Reservation. During the decades that followed, the Yakama Nation developed a “cultural” approach to wetland and floodplain protection, restoration, and management. This approach emphasized reestablishing, as much as possible, historic conditions to benefit all resources in the locations and proportions that they existed in the past. The results of this large-scale effort on the Yakama Reservation will be shown, and why this approach should be of interest to all waterfowl and wetland managers will be discussed.

AUTHORS: Kent Sanmann, Native Foodways Restoration Alliance

ABSTRACT: If we are to reimagine wetlands as sustainable water gardens, then we are going to need tools, both gardening tools and tools to process the produce. And are the gardens just for us, or other creatures as well? And while wetlands have been lost in modern times by agricultural conversion of floodplains, both agriculture and wetlands co-existed in a symbiotic relationship in the past.
One plant that played a vital role in all of these activities in the past is river cane. Although the plant is mainly associated with the southeastern United States, historically its range extended into the Midwest as well as Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. River cane grew extensively in the original homelands of the Chickasaw tribe and was used by them for a variety of purposes. After their removal to Oklahoma, where it was not as common as it was in the southeast, they continued to use it for limited purposes until today. This presentation will look at the historical uses of river cane by Chickasaws as well as modern uses, including its use in alleviating current problems along the Blue River, the only undammed river in Oklahoma and an important water source for south/central Oklahoma and the Chickasaw and Choctaw Nations.

AUTHORS:  Veronica Pipestem, Native Foodways Restoration Alliance

ABSTRACT:  Yonkapin, Nelumbo lutea, is an important part of contemporary 𐓷𐓘𐓻𐓘𐓻𐓟 (Osage) culinary tradition as it still eaten today during ceremonies and other community activities. We have a long, documented history of eating yonkapin and its importance as a food source has been well documented. While it is primarily considered a feast food, its rarity may be due to larger, systemic issues that are related to colonization, including land and habitat loss, confinement to reservations, the introduction of rations and other government food sources, etc. This presentation will provide a brief overview of Osage culinary traditions as it relates to 𐓲𐓟𐓷𐓘𐓵𐓟 (American Lotus), its place as an indicator of Osage food sovereignty, and efforts and issues related to making it a more regular food source for Osages and other Native communities.

AUTHORS: Natalie G. Mueller and Christina Youngpeter

ABSTRACT: The ancient city of Cahokia (900-1350 AD) was the largest Indigenous settlement North of Mexico before European colonization. It was built in the middle of the American Bottom floodplain, south of the confluence of the Illinois, Missouri, and Mississippi rivers. Cahokians relied on a diverse array of annual and perennial floodplain-adapted plants, and created anthropogenic wetlands within the urban landscape. Cahokia was gradually abandoned between 1250-1350 AD, and many archaeologists have argued that either droughts or floods destabilized the food system and caused this “collapse.” However, the drought and flood tolerance of most of the plants grown by Cahokian farmers is unknown. We are conducting experiments with these plants to better understand their productivity, in terms of yield, and susceptibility to flooding and drought throughout their lifecycle. In addition to shedding light on the fate of this ancient city, we hope that our results will contribute to a revitalization of some of these ancient crops. With flood frequency and intensity predicted to rise in coming decades, floodplain adapted crops could provide a low input alternative to the flood-intolerant industrial crops that currently dominate agriculture in the Midwest.

AUTHORS: Cydney Ross, Deep Roots KC

ABSTRACT: Global conservation challenges are viewed with apathy. In a rapidly changing climate, how can individuals and organizations make a lasting impact while outdated systems dominate? Deep Roots KC is empowering Midwestern communities to enact social change. From individual impact to organizational change, outreach efforts are altering perspectives and landscapes in Kansas City, Missouri. Learn about our native landscape initiatives to create sustainable practices at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. See how partnerships with Missouri Department of Conservation and Johnson County Parks and Recreation District have expanded community impact. We’ll discuss programs that have inspired people to reconsider their place in our natural communities and embrace native landscapes across the Midwest.

AUTHORS: Nadia Navarrete-Tindall; Lincoln University of Missouri, Cooperative Extension; Sue Bartelette, LU-Cooperative Extension; Qingbo Yang, LU-Cooperative Research; and Samira Mahdi, LU-Cooperative Research;

ABSTRACT: Native edible plants can be found in all plant communities like woodlands, grasslands and wetlands. In Missouri, there are many native plants that can be consumed as greens, teas, in stews or for flavoring, as Native Americans did before the arrival of the Europeans.

There are more than 2000 native species in the state, and this presentation will provide information on a few that are naturally found in bottomlands and wetlands and can be grown in farms and gardens.

One of the significant advantages of promoting native edibles is their adaptability to various soil and shade conditions. Unlike annual crops, perennials do not need to be replanted each year, ensuring a continuous and reliable food supply. This adaptability makes them ideal for urban farming, providing a sustainable and cost-effective solution for food production that also benefits pollinators. Ongoing studies are done in collaboration with a LU researcher to determine their nutritional value.
The SPC promotes native edibles as specialty crops, such as golden glow or sochan (Rudbeckia laciniata) and cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum), wild plums (Prunus spp.), persimmon and paw paw. Other species promoted for food consumption are wapato (Sagittaria latifolia), a wetland species that produces edible tubers at the end of the growing season. This particular species can be grown in water gardens that can also provide habitat for frogs and other wetland animals.

Through a series of hands-on workshops and presentations offered across the state, the SCP team educates small-scale farmers and gardeners about planting, harvesting and benefiting from native edibles. The SCP maintains three demonstration areas, fully established, at Lincoln University. Here more than 150 species, including more than 50 native edibles can be seen. Workshops include food tastings in collaboration with local chefs.

AUTHORS: Mark Flaspohler, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

ABSTRACT: Ducks Unlimited’s Agriculture Strategic Plan Vision is focused to help take action in partnership with farmers, ranchers, landowners, cooperatives and commodity groups, financial institutions, corporations, municipalities, and policy makers to achieve sustainable agricultural landscapes. The goal is to provide economic prosperity and healthy communities for people while growing our conservation impact in the highest priority landscapes for North America’s waterfowl. Depending upon the region, watershed, and landscape position, wetlands contribute in a variety of ways. Wetlands are an essential part of these sustainable landscapes because they serve as natural infrastructure and contribute to a range of ecological services including water quality and quantity, carbon sequestration, soil health, flood control, mitigation, and coastal resiliency. Having a diverse set of programs ensures that there are suitable options for producers to value and incorporate these vital habitats and their interaction with the surrounding land and water.

Ducks Unlimited’s Sustainable Agriculture and Working Lands Focus is aimed at key landscapes, their primary resource concerns, conservation practices, and program implementation strategies. This means developing and scaling on-the-ground conservation programs that are beneficial for agricultural producers and waterfowl, while simultaneously providing ecosystem services is also key. Both in-field and edge-of-field practices help working ag lands target soil health, water quality and flood mitigation improvement. Maintaining existing and building new partnerships to target a voluntary and incentive-based approach to agriculture and conservation is also key. Continuing to work closely with producers, NRCS, USFWS, NFWF, MRCTI, State Fish and Wildlife Agencies, Departments of Agriculture, and commodity partners will also be critical in many ways, e.g., driving new public and private revenue towards important program needs while growing wetland and associated habit acres on both private and public lands. Finally, communication of these opportunities, partnerships, and successes by generating and amplifying media narrative around DU’s positive impact on working lands is important to develop DU’s brand that resonates with the agricultural sector and its supporters.

AUTHORS: Zack Miller, The Nature Conservancy

ABSTRACT: With mounting biodiversity and climate crises, there is increasing pressure on land stewards, farmers, and other leaders in land-use to make America’s ‘breadbasket’ more resilient. While there is overwhelming evidence that biodiversity underpins resilience, most Midwestern landscapes remain dominated by monocultures of annual crops, with biodiversity relegated to degraded and fragmented habitats. Designing, incentivizing, implementing, and maintaining biodiverse landscapes for both production and resilience to uncertain future conditions is a major challenge of our time.

In this talk, Zack Miller of The Nature Conservancy in Missouri will discuss landscape-scale ecological health and how the incorporation of ecological design can benefit human health and ecosystem function, undergirding more diverse, resilient, and regenerative socio-ecological systems. Miller will use the Missouri River Center, a new collaborative conservation project on the banks of the Missouri River in Boone County, MO, as a case study for exploring intentional design, co-benefits, cost-share opportunities, and polyculture food production in wetland and floodplain habitats. This ~164-acre project will be comprised by a mosaic of wetlands, alley cropping systems with native, flood-tolerant perennial fruit and nut trees, multi-functional riparian buffers, and amenities to support a variety of educational and training programs. The project aims to re-establish diverse food forests in the fertile floodplain and to serve as a learning and gathering place for public and partners.

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