Interview | Tiffany Escherich- Bay Mills Indian Community

Q: Who are you and what organization do you work for and how long have you been at Bay Mills Indian Community and how long have you been working conservation jobs?

A: I am Tiffany Escherich, Invasive Species Specialist for Bay Mills Indian Community.  I have been with Bay Mills for 5 years but have a cumulative conservation work experience spanning over a decade that also includes the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians Environmental Department (Pesticide Specialist), US Forest Service St. Ignace Ranger Station (Wildlife Technician), UP Land Conservancy (Piping Plover Biologist) and Ludington State Park (Piping Plover Steward).

Q: What are some typical duties you do at your job? 

A: I coordinate Bay Mills Biological Services Department’s Invasive Species program.  In this role I write grants to fund my program, hire technicians and purchase necessary equipment to further the goals of our management plans. I oversee current infestations on Bay Mills and work to prioritize the management and restoration of priority sites.  In addition, I stay very active with invasive species collaborations across Michigan and the Mid-West in preparation for the next potential invasion of new invasive species we currently don’t have here.

I work with dozens of partners through our local Three Shores Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA) where I am a member of the steering committee.  For the UP Resource Conservation and Development Council I am an Executive Board member.  These organizations represent both the service area of the EUP including Chippewa, Mackinaw and Luce counties (Three CISMA) as well as the entire UP (UPRCD).  Both organizations frequently organize meetings/conferences with downstate and regional partners to build a larger network of invasive species managers who work collectively and across jurisdictional boundaries when battling infestations.

Q: What are some projects going on currently/ what is your favorite project?

A: We are working on our annual management of invasive species at priority sites which mostly includes spotted knapweed, scotch pine, narrowleaf cattail, and purple loosestrife.  Many of these sites have shown incredible improvements since we began intensive management just 5 years ago allowing us to move some sites to restoration phase.  I work with tribal membership to determine what plants used to reside at our management sites pre-invasion and work to restore the site to its previous state.  For some sites, we use a more targeted approach to changing the land use with our restoration.  One of our sites used to be a utility base for the tribe and once the utility equipment was removed, was left as a vacant plot of land where mostly only invasive species would grow.  Now I am looking to restore that site using many native wild edible plants for both nutritional and medicinal purposes as an easy drive up harvesting location for tribal members. 

We received new funding to update mapping and management of purple loosestrife and narrowleaf cattails along Bay Mills Sugar Island property shoreline.  We will also be managing spotted knapweed at a couple residential parcels that are adjacent to priority erosion control sites along the St. Mary’s River shoreline. 

We also manage spotted knapweed at a historic wild blueberry harvesting location.  When we first began working on this site, there were a mere 10sqft of wild blueberry plants and a near monoculture of spotted knapweed.  After 5 years of management, the wild blueberries have spread naturally to an area approximately 250 sqft with a reduction in the spotted knapweed density to approximately 40% of its previous 100% coverage.  Now, our Boys and Girls Club will take children over to harvest blueberries and bring them back to the club to teach them how to cook with them. 

In an effort to help with early detection and rapid response efforts (EDRR), we have received funding to begin surveying 1,000 acres of the Bay Mills Indian Community reservation for Hemlock tree locations.  Downstate there are areas experiencing infestations of the Hemlock Wholly Adelgid that feeds off Hemlock trees, eventually killing them.  Since we have a relatively large amount of wooded lands here at Bay Mills, it’s important for us to know where our Hemlock trees are located in an effort to have targeted survey responses for maximum efficiency. 

My favorite project right now is setting up our very own native plant nursery and hot compost facility.  Due to the amount of plastic contractor bags we send to the landfill annually, I secured funding to set up hot composting for us to compost the invasive species that we manage here.  The native plant nursery space will be used to house plants that we can remove from future construction sites around the reservation to assist with their relocation as well as begin propagating specific plants that are of high importance/interest to tribal members.   

Q: Are there any projects where volunteers from the community are welcome to help? 

A: We do periodically have volunteer events.  When we do, they will be posted on our Facebook page.

 

Q: Are there any challenges to your work and if so what are they? 

A: Here at Bay Mills, our Invasive Species Program is vowed to be a no-pesticide use program.  Meaning that all our invasive species management efforts is done by hand in an effort to eliminate the use of pesticides in invasive species treatments.  That being said, homeowners are able to contact our local Three Shores CISMA for free herbicide treatment of very difficult species like Japanese Knotweed (Michigan Bamboo) that may exist on their personal properties. 

Being a pesticide free program has its challenges as everything we do is very hands on.  We will spend many days/weeks at a site that our partners would spend a few hours to spray.  However, we are finding that going the natural route very much helps the native plants rebound very quickly on their own without much input from us post management. 

Q: What inspires you to live and work in the UP and specifically what inspires you to work in conservation?

A: When I was a young child, I was greatly influenced by USFS outreach staff that would visit national park campgrounds throughout the summer to provide natural resources education to young campers.  I remember wanting to have our camping trips start early so I could make sure we would be there when the staff would be so I could participate in the program.  All my life I have had a great love for the outdoors but really had no idea what I would do after high school graduation for a career until a guidance counselor recommended Lake State to me.  I moved to the UP when I was 17 years old to attend Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste Marie, MI.  At the time I had only visited the UP once as a child with minimal memories of that experience.  After dedicating my time to pursue a bachelors in Fisheries and Wildlife Management, it was clear that I was meant to work in the UP.  I have been very fortunate to have had the work experiences that have led me to my career here at BMIC.  The upper peninsula was graced with natural beauty and it’s a big reason why we get the tourists that we get.  People travel here looking to enjoy a truly natural landscape and I am very proud to be a contributor of that ultimate goal.  Keeping our lands invasive species free ensures that our ecosystems are healthy, diverse and thriving, the way they are meant to be.

Q: What do you look forward to in the future for natural resources?

A: I have recently written a limited aquatic invasive species management plan for BMIC.  Although we are currently not doing any aquatic invasive species management at this time, it is something I am interested in pursuing in the future.  I do realize that it will not be an easy task as Bay Mills is situated along the St. Mary’s River.  This represents an open system with no “jurisdictional boundaries” so to speak and the influx of boat traffic further complicates management.  It will take very unique and out of the box thinking to tackle some of the invasive species issues we currently are experiencing.  We do have invasive Eurasian Water Milfoil however we have an equal amount of the native variety as well.  Typically in invasive species work it’s ideal to not destroy any of the native species that exist at our sites however I know that large scale cuttings for the invasive milfoil will do just that.  It’ll also be a venture that will need long term maintenance, it’s not an invasive we will treat one time and expect it to disappear.  Another species of interest would be invasive mussels.  So, delving into the world of aquatic invasive species will require a lot of work, collaboration and will likely never be fully eradicated increasing the need for long term funding similar to the lamprey control program.

For terrestrial sites, we are currently seeing a lot of great natural restoration happening in response to our management efforts.  This is a venture we will continue to work on to bring the reservation back to its natural glory pre-spotted knapweed.  I envision we will have many more easily accessible wild edible harvesting sites in response to these management efforts.  I very much look forward to the future of our terrestrial landscapes as we work everyday to improve them.