For
over twenty years now John Persell has been a leading scientist
of the White Earth Water Quality Research Laboratories in Cass
Lake MN. John and his team study water quality, mercury in fish,
wetlands restoration and teach about sustainable practices for
keeping beautiful northern MN lakes, rivers and streams healthy.
Website-click
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In all
800 lakes, all of the fish tested by the Water Quality Research
lab contained mercury in excess of safe limits for consumption.
In other words, virtually everyone who eats fish from lakes in
northern Minnesota is at risk of mercury poisoning and its neurological
side effects to some degree. One coal fired power plant near Cohasset,
Minnesota releases 800 pounds of mercury into the atmosphere every
year. This gaseous form of mercury called methomercury is formed
from the burning of coal which contains the mercury that literally
rains down on the land and waterways and ends up in the fish.
Especially the larger fish that are at the end of the food chain
in the water like walleye, trout, northern pike and other game
fish that traditionally have been a prized source of nutritious
food. Now unfortunately, mercury is also a part of our dinner.
With
this background, John (pictured at right with David Winkleman)
has been desiring to personally live closer to the land and be
more sustainable. His picturesque home is in fairly deep woods
nestled between a number of waterways northwest of Cass Lake.
John and Patty are proud owner of a new Jacobs 31-20 turbine on
a 120-foot tower, which is now generating more electricity than
they can use. Even though the Persell's are not living in a great
wind site location and will only generate about 12,000 kwh per
year, it is still more electricity than they consume in their
home so they now have virtually net zero electrical power consumption
and sometimes even receive a small check or credit from the local
power company, Beltrami Power. John explains. "Even though
the up front cost of the Jacobs turbine is over $50,000, we are
doing this for the long hall, the big picture. And the biggest
payback for us is the satisfaction and knowledge of knowing that
we are no longer a part of the problem that we are part of the
solution to move into a more sustainable world."
John
began working for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in 1978 as a Water
Quality Planner, shortly after graduating from Bemidji State University
(Bemidji, MN) with a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry. The Tribe’s
Water Quality Program grew to become the Tribal Water Research
Lab in 1979, achieving Federal drinking water certification in 1987.
John has remained Director of the Tribal Government’s Lab, which
today employs four staff performing drinking water, surface water,
and fish tissue analyses for a wide variety of parameters. John
has directed the Tribe’s research focus to contaminants in subsistence
resources during the last ten years. At the center of this research
focus is the St Regis/Wheeler Superfund Site which is located on
the Leech Lake Reservation. The toxic cocktail at this former wood
preservation company site includes Dioxins and Furans, PCBs, DDT,
PAHs, Phenols, Arsenic, Chromium, and Mercury.
As part of the Tribes' assessment and communication of the risks
associated with food contaminants, he has devoted considerable time
to understanding the known health impacts of these contaminants.
John is a six year veteran of the United States Air Force and Army;
a father and grandpa, and particularly enjoys family and outdoor
activities.
For
over twenty years now John Persell has been a leading scientist
of the White Earth Water Quality Research Laboratories in Cass
Lake MN. John and his team study water quality, mercury in fish,
wetlands restoration and teach about sustainable practices for
keeping beautiful northern MN lakes, rivers and streams healthy.
With
this background, John (pictured at right with David Winkleman)
has been desiring to personally live closer to the land and be
more sustainable. His picturesque home is in fairly deep woods
nestled between a number of waterways northwest of Cass Lake.
John and Patty are proud owner of a new Jacobs 31-20 turbine on
a 120-foot tower, which is now generating more electricity than
they can use. Even though the Persell's are not living in a great
wind site location and will only generate about 12,000 kwh per
year, it is still more electricity than they consume in their
home so they now have virtually net zero electrical power consumption
and sometimes even receive a small check or credit from the local
power company, Beltrami Power. John explains. "Even though
the up front cost of the Jacobs turbine is over $50,000, we are
doing this for the long hall, the big picture. And the biggest
payback for us is the satisfaction and knowledge of knowing that
we are no longer a part of the problem that we are part of the
solution to move into a more sustainable world." 
John
began working for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in 1978 as a Water
Quality Planner, shortly after graduating from Bemidji State University
(Bemidji, MN) with a B.S. in Biology and Chemistry. The