The River Parks Authority approved two measures on Thursday designed to make its plans to acquire more lands around Turkey Mountain more attractive to Vision 2025 renewal voters.
The board voted 4-0 to accept a $5.6 million non-recourse loan from QuikTrip Corporation and the George Kaiser Family Foundation to fund the accelerated purchase of lands “in the vicinity of Turkey Mountain.”
About a year ago, the Tulsa World, local television stations and other Tulsa media broke the news: an outlet mall was coming to town, and the site was going to be at the corner of U.S. 75 and 61st Street.
Some people cheered this, but those who regularly visited Turkey Mountain knew differently. We knew that a hulking retail development at that site would permanently and drastically alter our local urban wilderness.
Through social media and a few phone calls, a group of cyclists, runners, hikers and nature enthusiasts — most of who had never met — gathered at a downtown church to discuss what, if anything, could be done to preserve what was left of Tulsa’s native woodlands. What we learned that day is that the bulk of those woods and the trails therein were practically unprotected.
What happened in the weeks and months that followed was remarkable. The common goal of preserving and celebrating urban wildernesses led to the creation of the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition. The coalition proved to be energetic and effective.
Town Hall Meeting at Riverfeild in conjunction with the Southwest Tulsa Chamber of CommerceTown Hall Meeting hosted By District 2 City Council Rep Cue had record attendance.
Through intensive lobbying, public education, media campaigns and more, the coalition made the case that the space for the proposed mall was not the right location for such a development. In time, the public, numerous elected officials, and ultimately the developer, all agreed. The forest on the west side of Turkey Mountain would be spared and left wild.
TUWC Marketing and PR Director meets with the media to educate people on the value of Urban Wilderness
This was a huge victory, but it was not by any stretch the only thing the TUWC accomplished. Under TUWC leadership or in partnership with other organizations, Turkey Mountain saw two of the largest and most successful cleanup and trail maintenance days it had ever seen.
January 2015 Turkey Mountain Cleanup Day hosted by the TUWC & OEFMay 2015 Mooser Creek Cleanup Day with the City of Tulsa, Save our Streams, Blue Thumb, the Westside YMCA and others.
The TUWC also headed a comprehensive user survey that gave us huge insights into who and how many people come to Turkey Mountain.
TUWC conducts a Trail User Survey
The coalition also organized education programs and events to help people understand more about what Turkey Mountain is.
TUWC hosts Guided Walks on Turkey Mountain
Today, the TUWC is hard at work. We are an official nonprofit organization now taking contributions to acquire land to ensure the preservation of Turkey Mountain. We continue to engage with the public through this website as well as numerous social media outlets. We will continue to lead cleanup days and trail maintenance projects while also offering tours to those who want to see more of this unique park. So much has been accomplished in the past year, and we know that more great things will follow in the near future as well as the long term. Stay tuned to see what’s next and how you can be involved.
With the mall question seemingly solved, the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition has turned its eyes toward a new goal: securing the future of Turkey Mountain for the long-term.
This is where the work of the many comes into play. Just like we needed everyone’s voices to stand up for protecting urban wilderness, we need people to rise up again. In this case, the way to protect wild woodlands is to take it off the market. And to do that, we need to buy it.
TUWC is actively raising funds for the purchase of land in the Turkey Mountain area. The land won’t come cheap, so the task before us is significant. We are hoping to raise at least $3.2 million to ensure Turkey Mountain remains a true wilderness area where people can hike, bike, run and view wildlife in its natural habitat. This is a true treasure for Tulsa and northeastern Oklahoma and is worth the investment to keep it intact and free from development.
We have three ways people can give to this cause.
First, we have an account set up through the Tulsa Community Foundation that is solely for the purpose of land purchases. You can donate to that here. It is even possible to set up reoccurring monthly donations at a minimum of $5.00
Second, we have set up a GoFundMe site that is also accepting funds for land purchases. You can donate through that channel here.
Lastly, we have a bank account set up at Yorktown bank to accept donations. These donations can be delivered to
No matter how you choose to donate, your contribution is tax-deductible.
One very important thing to keep in mind: The land that was part of the original outlet mall plan is still zoned in such a way that it could be purchased and used for commercial purposes. And it’s still for sale. This further drives home the point that the sooner we can take it off the market, the sooner we can keep Turkey Mountain free from development.
So please consider donating to this task. The more people who give, the closer we will get to ensuring the future of Tulsa’s greatest wild green space.
