Anthropogenically-derived mercury and sulfur in the Upper Great Lakes Region are important topics of discussion and research, particularly regarding the influence that elevated levels of these elements have on watershed pollution, public health, the mining industry, and wild rice production. The USDA Northern Research Station is investigating the latest science, possible solutions and remediation technologies, and potential consequences that elevated levels of mercury and sulfur pose to communities—especially those that are at greatest risk, including Indigenous Peoples of the Upper Great Lakes Region.

Mercury and sulfur in Upper Great Lakes watersheds of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan are pollutants that threaten ecosystem services and human health. In 2021, the U.S. Congress directed the Northern Research Station to study mercury and sulfur pollution in the Great Lakes region over a 5-year period and generate science to inform related policy and to implement demonstration sites for proposed remediation technologies. The research team began by developing a synthesis of current information on mercury and sulfur in the Upper Great Lakes Region and outlining a series of recommendations for research investments that will provide useful information to land managers and policymakers for mitigating the impacts from both mercury and sulfur pollution. The synthesis describes the existing scientific resources and cross-disciplinary capabilities that contribute to the effort, summarizes existing scientific knowledge, identifies knowledge gaps, and outlines the next steps needed to fill these gaps and develop mitigation approaches. The synthesis details the potential for mercury and sulfur pollution to affect valuable resources, including wild rice and freshwater fish, two ecosystem services that have considerable ecological and socioeconomic value in the region and special significance to Indigenous Peoples of the Upper Great Lakes. The synthesis explores how dynamics of mercury and sulfur may be affected by a changing climate and bioremediation treatments as well as the socioeconomic influence the pollutants have on communities and economies.