A great weekend of running for Tulsa: Great Plains 10K, Snake Run

But more importantly, what a great weekend of running for Tulsa. It sure seemed like the Great Plains 10K was a success, and TZ put on another great Snake Run. People got to enjoy the trails at Turkey Mountain, and thanks to all the runners, their efforts will help future endeavors to preserve and promote one of the city’s greatest assets.

The Westside YMCA & Camp Takatoka change the lives of every camper that attends Camp. It would be hard to say what Tulsa would be like we’re it not for the 50+ years they have been located on Turkey Mountain. The TUWC’s own Government Affairs Officer is just one of those lives forever changed. This change has caused a ripple effect for good. Right now the YMCA is hosting its annual drive for funds to support scholarships to make camp a reality for those who could not afford it otherwise. Please donate or at least share the word. This is where we change the future.

To donate to the YMCA CLICK HERE

My brother and I came to the Westside YMCA in the summer of 1976 when I was 10 years old and my brother was 13. At some point earlier that year, Jay Logan had befriended our family and suggested to our mother that the programs the Y offered for children would be really good for Kevin and I. Our father had passed away a couple of years prior to this. Not only did we attend the day camp but we also went to Camp Takatoka many times, and I went on several of the Y ski trips to Snow Mountain Ranch near Winter Park in Colorado over the years. The Westside YMCA day camp gave my brother and I opportunities that young men usually get to discover with a father. I still recall riding up into the land to the south of the camp on horseback or hiking around up there with our counselor. Through my experience at the Westside Y, I gained an appreciation for horses and and the outdoors which continues today as I near 50. Well, I have traded horses for a mountain bike since I need the outlet for exercise.

This camp meant two fatherless young men got to experience the outdoors and all it had to offer while our mother was able to hold down a full time job in the summer and did not have to worry about where we were or what we were doing. We were in great hands the entire time. Camp Takatoka awakened my sense of spirituality and there are friendships made at that camp which still figure prominently in my life. My career with a family business I have worked for the last ten years, was the result of a friendship originally made through Y ski trips and Camp Tak. These programs and camps change lives and are an important resource that help make Tulsa the great place it is to live. I can honestly say the YMCA experience positively impacted my life and has much to do with the man I am today.

My brother became the youth coordinator in his church largely because of the experiences he had from Y programs. From that experience, he understood the importance of positive mentorship to young women and men. He passed away 14 years ago, but I know his influence is still perpetuated in other’s lives. The seeds planted by the YMCA programs do influence and affect people who never even got to have the experience Kevin and I did with these programs. I realize my mother probably sacrificed quite a bit to pay the tuition for the programs, but I’m certain she will tell you it was worth every penny.

Today, when I speak about these memories and experiences in my volunteer capacity with the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition, I get a slight knot in my throat because they really are a significant part of my character. I do apologize if my reasons might sound a bit emotional or personal. For me, this camp and programs were a life-changing experience I believe every child who wants to should have.

Needless to say, I was shocked when I first heard the plans for the outlet mall to the south of the camp. It’s not only my avid use of Turkey Mountain today that makes me want to fend this off, it’s also the fond memories of the Westside Y and what I would like to help protect for generations of area children to come. I have reviewed Simon’s plans in depth, have had face-to-face meetings with John Dionis and Jessica Fields, and monitored the PRC meeting at INCOG. I cannot see, in any scenario, how the impact of this project can be minimized to future generations of campers. The huge retaining wall and all the noise, trash, and activity malls attract are such a shock to the senses when you are expecting peaceful wilderness.

Do understand, there is movement underway to secure funding to take this property out of play for development permanently should Simon be rebuffed on their zoning change request. Trail users do not want to face the threat of development every one or two years any more than the Westside YMCA does. That fund drive is a top priority once this threat has been fended off and is being carefully organized as this is written.

Snake Run stuff

Thanks to all my awesome volunteers, ones who give up their day so their friends can have a good race. And congrats to all my friends who ran and had fun with us.

As the past few weeks have unfolded, we’ve seen a growing number of voices who are opposing construction of an outlet mall at Turkey Mountain. Some are individuals, and some are turning into more organized groups. It points to the fact that there is a strong interest in preserving Tulsa’s biggest and best urban green space.

Noting this, there are some important distinctions to be made.

The Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition was founded on the belief that there needs to an open dialogue between the various owners of Tulsa’s wild spaces and those who visit them. The goal was that this would bring everyone closer together and foster greater care for one another and the world around us.

Yes, our formation as a coalition was prompted by a potential commercial development on an urban wilderness. But no, we are not a protest group.
• Yes, we are against the mall.
• No, we as a group are not against Simon malls or any other corporate entity.

The TUWC was formed with a long-term goal in mind. As we carefully decided what our group was to stand for, we came back with some basic fundamentals:

The first of those is respect. Respect for one another, the land and respect for those who have a different vision than we do.

The second is that in order to be users of the wilderness, we also need to be good stewards of the land. We need an active role in preservation. This is why we host cleanup days quarterly as well as other projects that help maintain and preserve the land.

The third is that facts speak louder than any rhetoric ever could, that the TUWC would become a clearing house for all facts dealing with Tulsa’s urban wilderness spaces. This is why we present all information from all sides on our website. We trust that Oklahomans want what is best for the world around them and that given the facts would arrive at the same conclusions that we do.

The fourth is to share this wonderful space with as many people as we can. To encourage them to live a more active and healthy lifestyle in whatever way they physically can. The TUWC regularly hosts guided walks of Turkey Mountain so that others may feel more at ease in the wilderness and also be taught how to respectfully use the trails and why these spaces are so important.

In short, we Celebrate Local Wilderness by standing on the basic principles above: Preserve, protect and promote the responsible use and enjoyment of Green Country’s urban wildness areas for current and future generations.