Conservation News

Oklahoma Horizon television program on Feb. 7 featured three stories on conservation. The stories are available for viewing online at the links below, along with a "Value Added" feature on Frank Austin, former board member at Central North Canadian River Conservation District.

Farmers upstream of Oklahoma's capital are pitching in to implement conservation practices that would improve the water quality in Oklahoma City.  

OKC Water Quality (View Video)

We visit with Clay Pope, executive director of the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts, about what conservation practices are being done on the farm.

Interview with Clay Pope--Conservation Practices (View Video)

Beyond their aesthetic beauty, trees play a critical role in our environment...cleaning the air and preventing erosion and many of these trees got their start from a small plot of land in Goldsby, Oklahoma.

Tree Conservation (View Video)

Oklahoma's Frank Austin has spent years studying the land and building conservation programs for it which is helping to turn Oklahoma land into something beautiful, but more importantly, useable.

Value Added--Conservation (View Video)

Water Quality Success Stories

Four Oklahoma Streams Removed from EPA 303(d) List

EPA declares water quality work done by Oklahoma agricultural producers and the Oklahoma Conservation Partnership successful; several state streams no longer impaired. (More)

Service Award: Lynn Weldon, 15 Years

Lynn Weldon, OCC/FMHR Human Resources Management specialist, was recognized for 15 years of service to the state of Oklahoma. (More)

OETA Television: It's Your Government — Oklahoma Conservation Commission

On Jan. 26, 2010, OETA Television's Oklahoma News Report broadcast a story about the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, produced by journalist Cathy Tatom. Beginning with our roots in the Dust Bowl and an overview of current activities, the story then focused on Upstream Flood Control Dam rehabilitation and repair at Kadashan 2 and Sallisaw 18M and featured OCC Area III Commissioner George Stunkard.

To view the program online, click on this link: http://www.oeta.tv/programs/ondemand.html?list=onr, then select the ONR 1-26-10 episode. The segment begins at about the 23 minute location within the 30-minute program.

OCC Cooperates to use ARRA Funds for Three Water Quality Projects

The Conservation Commission has partnered with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, Oklahoma State University, and the University of Oklahoma on several projects to reduce nonpoint source pollution to Oklahoma’s waters and demonstrate green technology, while protecting and creating Oklahoma jobs. (More)

ARRA - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

News and information regarding the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. (More)

It's Your Water Showcase, March 2, 2010, St. Louis, Mo.

USDA-ARS is sponsoring a showcase regarding the newest information in watershed scale research, technology development, decision support, and policy tools, and what is being done across the U.S. to ensure clean water. (More)

Record funding for conservation and flood control in spite of budget cuts

In a time when Oklahoma is faced with an economic downturn that is being compared to the Great Depression, record amounts of funding are going to work in conservation practices that not only protect the state’s natural resources and improve water quality but help protect public safety and property. (More)

A Brief History of the Conservation Commission and Conservation Districts

In the 1930s Oklahoma was included in a roughly-defined geographic area and cataclysmic environmental event known jointly as the Dust Bowl. (More)

Record Funding for State Conservation Cost-Share Program

Program Year 12 funds combined with leftover funds from previous years and from the Conservation Bond total nearly three-and-a-half million dollars. (More)