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.
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.
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.
The TUWC also headed a comprehensive user survey that gave us huge insights into who and how many people come to Turkey Mountain.
The coalition also organized education programs and events to help people understand more about what Turkey Mountain is.
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.
