Jackie Bubenik, Tulsa’s first River Parks Authority director passed away earlier this week in Wichita, Kansas. Tulsa might look much different today if it were not for his vision and guidance of the RPA through its early years. He was the director for nearly 30 years.
I never met Mr. Bubenik personally but came to know him through his vision for Turkey Mountain when the TUWC was leading the fight against development on the west side of the Turkey Mountain area. I came to appreciate what his vision was for the land. His idea all along had been to acquire all the land from the Arkansas River to Highway 75 which was finally realized as a result of Tulsa’s Vision 2025 extension.
Mr. Bubenik’s lasting legacy will be the miles of trail which now line the Arkansas River as well as many park areas along the river. I can recall a time before the trail system was in place when the area just west of Riverside Drive resembled somewhat of a wasteland.
In addition to the trails, Bubenik, along with former Tulsa County Commissioner Terry Young were the two individuals who can really take credit for the creation of the Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness area. It was Bubenik’s dream that Turkey Mountain would be free from development and it would be a place where future generations of Tulsans could go to get a respite from life in a busy city.
The most amazing part of his vision for such a riparian haven was that it would eventually be near the center of the metro area.
Two of my favorite quotes of his were:
“We have a lot of well-manicured parks, but we don’t have one that shows this area before people.”
“Fifty years from now, (Turkey Mountain) will be an oasis. “Everything around it will be conquered by urban growth, but that will be there as a reminder of what Tulsa once looked like.”
(Both originally published in Tulsa World articles)
I relied on relaying this original vision of the land to city leaders to remind them of the original intent of this gift to the citizens of Tulsa. I always felt fortunate there were records of his vision we could draw on to show how unique and important this urban wilderness area is.
Thank you Mr. Bubenik for your vision and your gift to the citizens of Tulsa.
Colin Tawney, former VP and Public Affairs Coordinator of the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition. 
