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.

Make plans to spend March 27th at Turkey Mountain with the TUWC, River Parks Authority and Progressive Trail Design. 

Weather permitting we plan to work on trail building under the supervision of the pros from Progressive Trail Design!

Additionally, we will be working on the following:

• removing invasive species
• trail compacting
• litter removal
• erosion mitigation

Two shifts to better accommodate schedules!

Our morning shift will get started at 9AM and go to Noon and break for lunch.

The afternoon shift will start at 1PM and pack it in at 4PM.

ALL AGES ARE WELCOME!!!

We can sign for volunteer hours for students!!!

How should I plan?

• attire: wear sturdy shoes and clothes you can work in.

• bring a reusable water container

• wear layers you can shed as the day warms

• bring sunscreen and bug spray

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

To join the discussion on the AM Shift visit the Facebook Event here or the PM Shift here.

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! 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Last night the citizens of Tulsa got to see the first ideas of what Turkey Mountain can hope to look like going forward.

While we understand that as of yet this plan is a dream with zero funding committed, we are delighted with what we are seeing. Turkey Mountain as we currently know it is being left largely untouched by programming.

The careful consideration from Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates’ team working together with many experts including Progressive Trail Design, assures us that we are in the hands of respected trail builders and conservationists. As each piece of this plan was unveiled we were pleased to see how much input from the community was utilized.

By incorporating the other regional parks this is a chance for our Urban Wilderness experience to expand! With the revitalization of Bales Park to house picnic facilities and a community green space for performances, this gives park users some of the things they have wanted to see on Turkey Mountain Proper while not detracting from the more intensive recreational trail users.

We are happy to see the inclusion of accessibility options for those of all ability levels to bring the wilderness experience to users of all walks of life.

Since the early days of the TUWC forming, Mooser Creek has been a big concern. We are thrilled to see the health of this creek take a prime role as it is one of the last natural, pristine streams in Tulsa County. The inclusion of many suggestions from the RD Flanagan study is a wonderful thing to see.

We hope the citizens of Tulsa are as enthusiastic as we are about the opportunities this plan could hold for our beloved Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness. An urban wilderness park of this caliber can only boost the appeal of Tulsa to live, work and play!

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