This adaptation project includes 164 acres of forest managed by the Natural Resources Department of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (Bad River NRD). The team chose two stands of aspen-dominated forest on red clay plain soils, with mixed hardwoods and pine in the understory, and one stand of large white pine over mixed hardwoods. The adaptation project sites are near the Bad River and less than 10 miles from the Kakagon/Bad River Sloughs—16,000 acres of wild rice, grasses, sedges, trees, streams, and open water located on Tribal lands along the southern shore of Lake Superior. The Sloughs are part of the largest and healthiest full-functioning freshwater estuarine system remaining in the upper Great Lakes region and are culturally significant to the Bad River Tribe.

The Bad River NRD works to maintain and improve the health of ecosystems within the Bad River Reservation for at least the next seven generations, while providing the sustainable provision of resources. This includes over 124,000 acres of land, primarily owned by the Tribe or held in trust. Much of the management on Tribal lands works to maintain the integrity of the Bad River watershed and associated ecosystems. Forestry activities also strive to enhance tree species that have cultural importance, including white pine, paper birch, and northern white-cedar. The Bad River NRD plans to use the lessons learned from this adaptation project to incorporate climate change into its next Integrated Resource Management Plan.