There isn’t much wild rice left anymore, but the river separating Wisconsin from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, the Menominee (which means People of the Wild Rice), has been bountiful to me during my youth, and to the people of the area for generations. While it has several dams in the lower stretch which feeds into Green Bay (part of Lake Michigan), I had the pleasure of catching walleye pike, smallmouth bass, northern pike, and sunfish in that river…and some folks even catch sturgeon in the fall. Many a summer day during my teen years was spent on a small private island in the river, where we would jump from a rope swing into the river, and sometimes camp. Bald eagles are not uncommon along the Menominee. Currently the river is being threatened by Aquila Resources “Back 40 Project,” an 800-acre sulfide metals mine planned to sit mere feet from the river. 90% of the public is outspoken against the mine, but the state of Michigan seems to hold little regard for this opposition and it seems the final permits may go through. God and good sense willing, people will be able to have idyllic experiences and experience the bounty of this river for years to come.