Band shares climate actions with state agency leaders

As countries, cities and groups from around the world mark Climate Week 2022, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa hosted state agency leaders to share actions the Band is taking to address climate change.

The tour, held on Day 2 of Climate Week, included a visit to the Reservation's resource management center and the solar energy site. Leaders from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Board of Water and Soil Resources, and the departments of Natural Resources, Employment and Economic Development, Agriculture, and Transportation were part of the tour, according to a FDL news release about the event.

"One of the priorities of FDL is to make sure that as a tribal nation, that we are sustainable and appropriate measures are taken to assure that not only what we do today, but what happens in the future will strive to maintain that sustainability," said Wayne Dupuis, FDL environmental program manager. "We are honored to share and visit about FDL's energy initiatives with the plethora of state agencies that came today."

The FDL Band has developed its Strategic Energy Plan to achieve the tribe's energy vision, which was highlighted on the tour.

Accomplishments of the plan include the following:

• Adoption of the Kyoto Protocol with a pledge to obtain 20 percent of the Reservation's electricity from renewable energy resources.

• A 50-percent reduction in fossil fuel consumption and 80-percent reduction in carbon emissions through renewable energy, energy efficiency, and carbon sequestration from FDL Reservation forests.

• Improvements to community vitality and self reliance through food sovereignty initiatives and activities that promote overall health and wellbeing.

Additionally, FDL operates a 1-megawatt solar array at the Black Bear Casino Resort. Utilizing 3,230 solar panels, the solar field has offset the casino's total energy use by about 10 percent.

"FDL has been implementing strategies to adapt to climate change for many years. These strategies are efficient, support the local economy, and are centered around the community's knowledge and connection to the natural world," said Helen Waquiu, director of Tribal Affairs and Diverse Communities for MPCA. "The state can learn from efforts, like those implemented at FDL, to address challenges a changing climate poses to all current and future generations of Minnesotans."