The Wapato on the Slough Project

2019 Community Watershed Stewardship Program

Chris Rempel, Naomi Rodriguez, Greg Archuleta

The Wapato on the Slough Project was prompted by the goal of revitalizing the consumption of Wapato by Indigenous Peoples in this area. From this goal came three guiding questions:

* How much Wapato is in the Columbia Slough and where is it located?

* Is it safe to eat the Wapato found in the slough?

* Is Wapato accessible for harvesting by our community?

This project sought to address these questions through a combination of site surveys, initial toxicity testing, and observations of access points to the slough and property ownership maps. All of these questions are ongoing discussions that will continue to be updated both through our Storymap and future projects and collaborations.

This project is funded through the Community Watershed Stewardship Program through the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde partnered with the project to fund toxicity testing of Wapato bulbs. The Columbia Slough Watershed Council provided administrative and logistical oversight of the project team.

View the Storymap link here: https://arcg.is/0Teyiq