The  Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated in todays Cleanup Day #tuwccleanup ! We had the pleasure of sharing the beautiful weather with over 120 participants! We were overwhelmed at such a fantastic turnout! With this being the start of running and cycling season we know many of our supporters were unable to attend. We promise to hold more cleanup days in 2016!

We’ve been blessed with a fairly mild winter, and if you go to Turkey Mountain on any given day – and especially on weekends – people have taken advantage of it. You see a lot of cyclists, runners, hikers, and even folks on horseback. Social media is peppered with folks from the Tulsa area chronicling their adventures at Turkey Mountain.

But more recently, a video surfaced showing something else. It showed someone on a motorcycle getting ready to take off down the Powerline Trail.

https://www.facebook.com/TonyRussellNewsOn6/videos/879914672123595/

Special thanks to our friend Tony Russell at KOTV News on 6 for alerting us!

We can see why people might be tempted to bring off-road motorcycles or ATVs to Turkey Mountain. But before you do, there are things you should know.

First, as an entity of the River Parks system, motorized vehicles of any kind are prohibited from use at Turkey Mountain. That includes any sort of ATVs.

But second, you should understand why this is the case.

If you’re on your motorcycle or ATV, there is a strong chance you will be moving much faster than other users, even those on off-road bicycles. The likelihood of your ATV running up to other users is very high.

With most of the trails in heavily wooded areas, it is unlikely you would see someone in front of you or crossing your path until they were a few feet from you. And given the noise that comes with ATV use, you certainly won’t hear others.

The trails are almost all singletrack, meaning that they are wide enough for passage of a single runner, cyclist or rider on horseback. These tight confines make it difficult to maneuver on highly trafficked trails, raising the risk of collisions greatly. No one wants to see an accident between an ATV and a runner, cyclist, or a horse.

And finally, there is the issue of wear and tear on the trails. All user traffic has some impact on trails, but motorized vehicles tend to have the greatest impact and chew up the pathways the most. The trails at Turkey Mountain were not designed to withstand the punishment of motorized vehicles of any kind.

So what should you do?

In short, find places that are better suited for ATV use, meaning areas that are more wide-open and where the risk of running into other users is lessened.

Some ideas:

Family and friends who own larger pieces of property can give you better options, and without the risk of potentially injurious incidents with other people. You can tear it up in complete freedom, with just you and your friends.

A number of state parks have facilities built with ATV usage in mind. Lake Murray State Park, Little Sahara State Park, Talimena State Park and Robbers Cave State Park all include areas designated for ATV use. Dozens of other sites throughout Oklahoma also offer places for motorcycle and ATV off-road recreation. So if you don’t mind a little time on the road, you can make quite a weekend of it in places that cater to you.

• A very comprehensive listing of ATV trails is available on the RiderPlanet USA website.
• TravelOK

There are also places you can go in the Ouachita National Forest in McCurtain County. Check out the regulations for that, but be secure in knowing there are some great places to ride in some of the most beautiful countryside in all of Oklahoma.

One of the things the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition stands for is people enjoying the outdoors, and we encourage you to do so responsibly. We certainly extend this to our friends who enjoy themselves on their ATVs. But in the case of Turkey Mountain, we’d ask that people find a place better suited for the higher speeds that motorized fun can bring, and to help keep Turkey Mountain wild.

It’s no secret that it has been extraordinarily wet in northeastern Oklahoma over the past several weeks, particularly since Christmas weekend. Given the lower temperatures, a lower sun, dormant foliage and the added rain and snow this weekend, the ground here is saturated.

This has created some concern about the condition of the trails at Turkey Mountain. All accounts from visitors there indicate that while there are some dry areas, most of the trails are muddy, slippery or covered with standing water.

This has become a bigger issue, partly because of the success the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition has had in promoting the value of Turkey Mountain. People are visiting Turkey Mountain in record numbers, and many current users only recently started going there. Those higher numbers also mean more wear on the trails, something that is magnified when they are inundated by recent rains.

Another unfortunate fact to consider: The trails themselves were not all planned. Some grew organically, without much thought into how heavier traffic and natural erosion would affect them later. These sections are particularly susceptible to erosion. This wasn’t a big problem in the past, when there were fewer people, but is a larger concern now.

The TUWC has worked with the River Parks Authority to shore up some sections of the trails, but there is still work to be done. We will continue to do so in the future.

In the meantime, there are some things we, as users, can do to help, given the current conditions. Primarily, this is a good time to let the trails “rest” and absorb the recent moisture. Check out some of the River Parks paved trails on your next walk, run or ride. The temporary reprieve will help mitigate the problems of developing ruts that often come with heavy usage on soggy trails.

And when you are out there, avoid trying to go around muddy or wet spots on the trail. Go through them. By going around, this creates wide spots and social trails that add to trail degradation and erosion. This may leave you with muddy shoes, but it will help keep the trails intact.

Lastly, we know that increased traffic has also meant more trash filling the trash cans at the trailhead. We appreciate people using the trash bins and not littering, but the bins are overflowing. Please consider taking your trash with you when you leave to avoid overflowing trash blowing around the parking lot and into the woods.

This is a lot to digest, and may put a temporary crimp on your plans. But paying attention to trail conditions now will help us build on a sustainable and successful future for Turkey Mountain and its users.

If you are interested in becoming a member of the TUWC Trail Crew please contact Ryan Howell or Tyler Hanes

Waterlogged: When it’s time to give the trails a break

But there comes a time when you have to think bigger. The places where I run are pretty busy, and not just with runners. Cyclists, hikers and other trail users frequent my local trails by the hundreds every day, at a minimum. All that use has an impact on trails under the best of conditions. Add enough rain to the mix and trail erosion and degradation is greatly accelerated.