Meet at the Upper Lot

• 9AM – NOON
• Come prepared to work
• Crews will be very spread out

What to bring / wear:

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

1. Cut new trail to access Bales Park and 61^st at SW corner of 61^st and HWY 75
2. Rake out drains on all trails
   • This is an ongoing project to keep the new trails in good repair.
3. Rock armor low wet spot on upper lot north entrance.
   •  That north trailhead is unfortunately where most of the water drains for the upper parking lot. This will require a lot of rock moving.
4. Touch up on new staircase
   • After a week of use and settling in, it likely will need some touchup, crushing rocks in the trail bed to add thinking to keep rocks from teetering
   • Likely first couple of years of stairs will need periodic maintenance like this.
5. Older trail reclamation
   • Some older trails that were shut down permanently (like the blue trail next to Zingo, the old yellow trail that went from upper lot to ridge/point, the old west entrance on upper parking lot near driveway) are starting to get “reopened” by folks and we need to go in and rebrush them and reclaim them.
6. Additionally if any families or groups wish to just come out and pick up litter we will gladly set them to work too!

If you have any questions please contact Bobby, Eric or Peter

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

Mo Chi Crew including Progressive Trail Design and TUWC Volunteers

Afternoon Crew

Morning Crew

Announcements

Working on Berms near Pepsi Lake

Seeding Berms Near Pepsi Lake

Sincerely, Thank you.

This workshop is designed for educators interested in teaching kids how to enjoy Turkey Mtn & all outdoor spaces responsibly.

About this event

Topics in this interactive workshop include: 

Best practices for effectively reaching youth with Leave No Trace, including fun and interactive games and activities educators can use, whether online or in person, to teach students, campers, and other youth participants (ages 6 to 18) how to Leave No Trace.

Activities may include resources from Leave No Trace’s website, Bigfoot’s Playbook, PEAK, TEEN program, and Social Media + Stewardship. 

Participants who are new to Leave No Trace or have not had Leave No Trace training in recent years are encouraged to complete the self-paced (30-45 min.) Leave No Trace Online Awareness Course in advance. 

COVID-19 Updates: 

All participants are asked to follow CDC guidelines and state and local requirements regarding Covid precautions. 

See the following links for more information:

• CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

• OK State Department of Health: https://oklahoma.gov/health.html

• We ask that all participants wear a functioning mask indoors or anytime distancing cannot be maintained (unless eating or drinking)

As we begin to discuss the River Parks Authority Turkey Mountain Master Plan created by MVVA one of the first things that must be done is undergrowth, fallen leaves and invasive species removal. There are a number of ways to do this. Manually, with grazing animals (like goats) or the most cost effective and natural option – fire. 

Without man made controls Oklahoma’s landscape would regularly cycle through a burn period allowing for the landscape to remove dead plants that were choking out part of the ecosystem and as a result would be a much healthier lush area as the foliage grew back.. This is apparent around Oklahoma in places like the Tallgrass Prairie, Deep Fork Wildlife Refuge and Cookson Hills. 

The reality is that by stopping this natural cycle Turkey Mountain has become a tinder box the dead wood and leaves actually are a huge danger and need to come out!  We also have invasive species choking out native plants. 

What about the animals? 

If you know anything about the TUWC you know that we consider humans as visitors to the space wildlife call home. The last thing we want to do is evict them! 

Controlled burns are done in small segments and set and watched by trained experts. By doing small areas at a time this allows the wildlife to safely evacuate. Where if we wait until a loose ember or lightning strike happens there will be no control and it will likely burn a much larger area. 

The TUWC is excited to see the implementation of the Master Plan and looks forward to the future of Turkey Mountain!