Opening Notice Update 8/15/22
On Tuesday, August 16, 2022 the following areas will open at 10:00 a.m. :
Up to the “Y” at Bear Trap
BUT
Will be CLOSED on Wednesday, August 17, 2022.
On Wednesday the Committee will re-examine the Wild Rice and determine how much more will be open for the following day!
If you have any questions, please call:
Brad @ 715-292-7822 or
Pierce @ 715-292-2234
PLEASE WAIT UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE FOR for further openings.
Notices
Announcements
Tribal Court Code 303 – Harvesting Wild Rice
The Tribal Council finds that the lands now comprising the Bad River Reservation were traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering grounds for the ancestors of the Tribe; that these lands were selected as a Reservation because of their wealth of fish, game, and wild rice; that wild rice has been a nutritional staple for members of the Tribe for generations beyond memory; that wild rice continues to provide a substantial portion of the protein and other nutritional needs of the Tribe's members; that the annual harvest of wild rice is a traditional event of long-standing cultural importance; that high unemployment and cash-poor local economy indicate that wild rice will remain critical as a food source for the Tribe's members; that one predictable source of cash income for the Tribe's members is the sale of wild rice to non-residents of the reservation; and that effective regulation of both member and non-member harvesting of wild rice is essential for the preservation of wild rice in amounts sufficient to supply the economic, nutritional, and cultural needs of the Tribe's members.
(a) "Conservation Department" means the Conservation Department of the Tribe.
(b) "Member" means any person who is enrolled or is eligible for enrollment in the Tribe, or who is recognized as a member of the Tribe by the Tribal Council.
(c) "Non-member" means any person who does not come within the definition of member.
(d) "Reservation" means the Bad River Reservation.
(e) "Tribal Council" means the Tribal Council of the Tribe.
(f) "Tribe" means the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation.
No person shall engage in any ricing activity within the boundaries of the reservation except during such times and except within such areas as the Conservation Department shall declare to be open to ricing.
No person shall rice who does not have in his or her possession a valid license issued to him or her by the Conservation Department, or who does not have or is not eligible to receive a membership or enrollment card of the Tribe.
(a) The Conservation Department shall monitor the ripening of wild rice within the reservation and shall give notice 24 hours before opening the first area of the season. Thereafter no notice need be given before opening additional areas.
(b) The Conservation Department shall post signs indicating the limits of open areas.
No person shall use any mechanical means to harvest wild rice, nor shall any person operate any boat motor or engine within the rice fields.
(a) Any person violating Sections 303.3, 303.4, or 303.6 of this chapter for the first time shall be subject to a forfeiture of not more than $150.00.
(b) Any person violating Sections 303.3, 303.4, or 303.6 of this chapter who has been previously found to have violated either Sections 303.3, 303.4, or 303.6 of this chapter or who is subsequently found to have previously violated either Section 303.3, 303.4, or 303.6 of this chapter shall be subject to a forfeiture of not more than $250.00.
(a) Any rice harvested in violation of this chapter may be seized by the Conservation Department and ordered forfeited.
(b) Any equipment used in violation of this chapter may be seized by the Conservation Department and ordered forfeited.
HARVESTING OF WILD RICE - ENACTED BY RESOLUTION NO. 9-2-81-12/Amended by Res. #10-7-81-26