The Opening Ceremony for Zhaagawaamikong-neyaashi Azhenamaw Manidoo-ishkode: Returning the Spirit of Good Fire to Minnesota Point 10.8.2026

A WCCO story, on YouTube: Lake Superior Chippewa hold first cultural burn in centuries in Duluth – YouTube

New Yorker article “How Tree Rings Challenged the Myth of American Wilderness”

MINNESOTA POINT 50 NEWS RELEASE: 10/2/26, updated on 10/7

Contacts:

• Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, Good Sky Guidance, bazile@goodskyguidance.com, #(715) 209-0562
• Abby Andrus, Dovetail Partners, abby@dovetailinc.org, #(458) 245-1067

For immediate release

Cultural Prescribed Burn Scheduled for Minnesota Point

A culturally informed prescribed burn for Minnesota Point is planned for next week (Oct. 6-8) if weather and burning conditions are favorable. An exact date and time will be shared once known. The burn is now scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 8th.

The burn will happen in Unit B on the attached map. This 17-acre area begins beyond the Sky Harbor Airport and the Pump House on Minnesota Point. In conjunction with the burn, a news conference will be held at the Pump House (time TBA) and a public viewing area will be available at the Lake Superior Estuarium on Barker’s Island in Superior (14 Marina Dr.). Expect the best viewing in the early afternoon on the day of the fire.

The prescribed burn, designed to return the Ojibwe practice of periodic fires on the land to encourage red pine regeneration and promote growth of plants like blueberries, was delayed from last spring because the Minnesota Point burn operations team determined that weather conditions weren’t safe.

In preparation, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources staff and students from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville removed ladder fuels and potential hotspots including downed branches from the base of the trees in the burn unit. This is to ensure that the prescribed fire remains low intensity. 

“This woodland is fire dependent, and the use of fire has been absent from it for 180 years. Returning good fire will restore both the ecology and culture,” said Kevin Berens, burn boss and Statewide Scientific and Natural Areas Management Coordinator, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. 

The planning team has developed a burn plan that considers factors like wind direction to minimize smoke impacts on surrounding neighborhoods and communities. Weather data will also be taken during the fire, and conditions will be monitored before and during the burn to ensure community safety. The prescribed fire will be conducted by highly qualified and trained personnel. The walking trail through the Scientific and Natural Area and Duluth parkland at the end of the point will be closed temporarily to ensure public safety.

The project is called Zhaagawaamikong-neyaashi Azhenamaw Manidoo-ishkode: Returning the Spirit of Good Fire to Minnesota Point. Members are from the sovereign Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the City of Duluth, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota Point 50, the Park Point Community Club, Good Sky Guidance, Dovetail Partners, Ethical Embers, the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Group members bring expertise in ecology, fire management, cultural stewardship, outreach and public land care. 

Signs about the project are posted on Minnesota Point. The planning team has also developed a web page about the project (https://minnesotapoint50.org/returning-the-spirit-of-good-fire-to-minnesota-point).

This project is supported by funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Coastal Program through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

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Minnesota Point 50 (MP50) is a community-led nonprofit organization established to shine a light on the ecological, cultural, and economic importance of Minnesota Point and to lead its partners in ensuring the long-term resilience of this national treasure.

The October 2026 Breeze is here.

Park Point Dune article in the DNT, Oct. 3, 2026

Scott Wolff, PPCC President, is at ppccex26@gmail.com for Park Point Community Club business. Please add Scott to your contacts and get in touch with him to add agenda items for monthly meetings.

Thank you to everyone who planted dune grass on September 9, 2026 and to the organizers of the event! Link here to the photos.

Check out upcoming events on Park Point facilitated by Minnesota Point 50. Minnesota Point 50 (MP50) is a 501c3 organization created by the Park Point Community Club in 2011. MP50’s mission is to lead strategic actions with a diverse group of partners to ensure the ecological, cultural, and economic resilience of Minnesota Point. MP50’s Vision: Minnesota Point, a dynamic and fragile ecosystem and community, sustains its land, water, wildlife, infrastructure, and people for generations to come.

Link to photos from the State Demographer’s presentation at Lafayette on 8.25.2026. A big thank you to Susan Brower and Dan Ross for sharing these interesting facts on our neighborhood and to MP50 & PPCC members for planning and facilitating the event!

Great to see neighbors at Tom’s Art Opening last Sunday at St. Andrews By the Lake.

Dune Stewardship Event based at Lafayette on 9.11.2026, photos here.