Ann Geisen, a DNR wildlife lake specialist, said trying to harvest unripe rice is seen as disrespectful. The DNR does field complaints each year, and the agency does its best to educate and encourage scouting of rice beds to find harvestable stands. It also provides an outlook report on conditions throughout the season, which runs through Sept. 30.
Decades ago opening date occurred a month earlier, on July 15. But in 2009 state law moved the season start date to Aug. 15.
“The Aug. 15 date has a lot of confusion,” said Darren Vogt, resource management division director with the 1854 Treaty Authority in Duluth, an intertribal natural resource management organization.
“I’d say typically no places are ready by that point,” he said. “I think people’s intentions are good, but there’s that feeling that you got to be the first one out there.”
Vogt said it looks to be a late ripening year, with yields below average across northeastern Minnesota. June flooding washed out rice beds. But there will still be some to harvest when it’s ready.
It’s important to keep harvesting alive, Vogt added, and to do it “in a good way,” the Indigenous expression about honoring tradition and spirit.
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Publish date : 2024-08-16 12:01:00
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