Notes from the Field: How Data and Wildlife Management Can Protect Tribal Values

First Nations has announced a series a summer webinars designed for natural resource professionals, particularly those working on tribal lands, and others interested in learning innovative approaches to ecological stewardship.

The series is made possible by the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, as part of the Mapping Ecological Stewardship Opportunities (MESO) project, which aims to support sustainable and innovative stewardship approaches on tribal lands in the Northern Great Plains region.

During this one-hour webinar, Dr. Shaun Grassel will share innovative research and data collection methods being used to protect wildlife and associated tribal values on the Lower Brule Indian Reservation. Case studies will highlight the cultural significance of wildlife population trends, species interactions, predator-prey relationships, and disease and how culturally-informed policy and management strategies uphold tribal values.

Shaun Grassel is a member of and a wildlife biologist for the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. For over 20 years, he has worked for his Tribe to restore, protect, and manage wildlife. Shaun’s work includes monitoring population trends of game species and focal non-game species, conducting research, and assisting in the development of policy. Shaun has a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University and a Doctoral degree in Natural Resources from the University of Idaho.  

The Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, located on the western edge of the Missouri River in Central South Dakota, established its Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Recreation over 30 years ago. The Department is responsible for the sustainable management and protection of wildlife across diverse aquatic, forested, and grassland habitats. In the last decade, thousands of acres of marginal cropland has been restored to grasslands. Rare and endangered species such as black-footed ferret and swift fox have been reintroduced along with buffalo, wild turkey, and elk, which restores part of a great ecosystem known by their ancestors.

Register for the webinar here.