Join the St. Louis River Alliance and St. Louis River Area of Concern coordinators for an evening celebrating the recovery of manoomin (wild rice) in the St. Louis River Estuary. This free community event will take place Tuesday, April 7, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. at Clyde Iron Works (2920 W. Michigan St.) in Duluth.
Discover why manoomin is vital to the health of the river, what its return tells us about decades of restoration work, and what this progress means for the future of our community. Local organizations will be tabling and eager to share their projects, stories, and opportunities to get involved.
The evening will feature special guest speaker Deanna Erickson, Director of the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve, who will share insights on the importance of this sacred plant and all the St. Louis River relatives wild rice supports—including those of us living along, paddling, and ricing these waters.
Free and open to the public. Free pizza will be served.
About Our Speaker
Deanna Erickson has served as the Director at the Lake Superior National Estuarine Research Reserve since 2020 and was the first Education Coordinator in the nine years following the Reserve’s 2010 designation. She initiated the impactful Rivers2Lake Education Program, which provides extended mentoring in place-based and outdoor education for teachers in partnership with regional schools and led the development of the Lake Superior Estuarium on Barker's Island in Superior. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Natural Resource Management from the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point and a Master of Education from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and has provided leadership in conservation, natural resource management and environmental education for over 20 years. She coordinates efforts related to tribal and Indigenous sovereignty and co-stewardship across the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and represented the Great Lakes region on NOAA’s Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Federal Advisory Committee. Deanna was the winner of the 2014 Lake Superior Stewardship award. She spends her free time paddling and exploring the remarkable coasts of Lake Superior and the islands and wetlands of the St. Louis River.