Category: TUWC

Trail Work Day 3.27.22

Thank you to all our volunteers! No matter if you could only dedicate a few hours or the whole day your participation was valued!

Sincerely, Thank you.

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March 27th Trail Work Day

Make plans to spend March 27th at Turkey Mountain with the TUWC, River Parks Authority and Progressive Trail Design. 

Weather permitting we plan to work on trail building under the supervision of the pros from Progressive Trail Design!

Additionally, we will be working on the following:

  • removing invasive species
  • trail compacting
  • litter removal
  • erosion mitigation

Two shifts to better accommodate schedules!

Our morning shift will get started at 9AM and go to Noon and break for lunch.

The afternoon shift will start at 1PM and pack it in at 4PM.

 

ALL AGES ARE WELCOME!!!

We can sign for volunteer hours for students!!!

 

How should I plan?

  • attire: wear sturdy shoes and clothes you can work in.

  • bring a reusable water container

  • wear layers you can shed as the day warms

  • bring sunscreen and bug spray

Tools (optional)

*****should you bring personal tools please clearly label them so you can make it home with what you brought.

*******note – we do not expect anyone volunteer to provide everything on this list, pick one or two things

  • Gloves

  • Loppers/Pruners (with your name on them)

  • Hand saws (non-power like a bow saw or folding saw) and small Axe/Hatchet

  • Hoe’s (both traditional & rogue) / Shovels (spade & square)

  • Pulaski / Mattock

  • Mcleod

  • Rake (leaf and garden rake)

  • Wheelbarrow

To join the discussion on the AM Shift visit the Facebook Event here or the PM Shift here.

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Tulsa World: Let’s be sure to take care of our urban wild spaces

Chances are, you are probably more familiar with work being done at Turkey Mountain than with those who have been actually doing the work.

Volunteers with the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition have for years advocated for Turkey Mountain (it’s sometimes been mistakenly called the “Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Coalition”) but are now seeking a broader scope.

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Board member Laurie Biby wrote a collum for the Tulsa World

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2021 #OptOutsideTulsa Photo Scavenger Hunt

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TUWC: Thoughts on the Zink Lake Dam

Usually, the TUWC tries to keep our scope to wilderness-specific issues. But with the Vision 2025 funding tying Turkey Mountain and the Zink Dam together, we need to hold true to our convictions. In March of 2016 we endorsed this bond measure after a great deal of fact-finding. The last thing our organization ever wants to do is gain at the expense of another outdoor space. 

As a result, we spoke to an unlikely source: Dave Lindo, a biologist who runs Oklahoma’s first dedicated kayaking stores. Anyone who has been on the water with Dave can tell you that he is a biologist first and a salesman last. One of the things he loves most is helping people connect with nature. 

While speaking with Dave, he allayed concerns of how the new dam would impact the unique species that call our prairie river home. He went on to detail how this would actually be an improvement for these wild creatures. We were encouraged by this and chose to endorse the bond measure. To see that the promises in this bond package have not been carried on to implementation is disappointing to say the least.

We are specifically concerned with the Least Terns, at last, having access to a relatively predictable nesting ground in the form of a protected sand bar island. The shovel-nosed sturgeon and paddlefish who need to be able to swim upstream to spawn. With the prior low water dam, these rare species of fish would become trapped in shallow pools. A more regular lowering of the dam would allow for them to complete this spawning cycle which actually might allow the population of these fish species to flourish. 

We understand that the River Parks Authority is a dam manager and not the owner, and therefore does not have the authority to enforce these promises. Flow of the dam is dictated by the Corps of Engineers. We sincerely hope that both the city of Tulsa and the Army Corps of Engineers will respect the statements made in 2016 and help the Tulsa stretch of the Arkansas River be a model for other cities on how man and nature can co-exist for the benefit of all. 

A quick review of the Vision 2025 package here will direct you to the following link. RiverProjectsTulsa.info The full report is available here.

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