A step closer to the plundering of our urban wilderness

A lot has happened since I last posted about the stupid idea for an outlet mall on Turkey Mountain. Simple Simon Properties quietly put their ducks in a row for a couple of months, and then dropped the bomb this past week. This nauseating video tells the tale.

NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |
And all the people interviewed are just SOOOO GLAD to have this in Tulsa. I'm so happy for you all (said by me in the most disgusted sarcastic voice ever.)

If that was not bad enough, check out 30 seconds that hit the editing floor.

NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |

A self proclaimed mountain biker and hiker plans to incorporate a nice buffer zone between the mall and Turkey Mountain. Can't these people realize--THIS IS TURKEY MOUNTAIN!!!

My friend Cleo dug up a couple of old newspaper articles that clearly outline the intentions of the city for the area. One article is from 1980, when the park was officially opened. (Double click on the articles below to enlarge them.)


The other article is from 1988, after much of the land had been purchased.

A group of mountain bikers, trail runners, and nature enthusiasts have banded together to form the Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition. Bookmark this site tulsaurbanwildernesscoalition.org. There will be a lot of valuable information here--news both good and sad, and ways you can voice your concerns, protests, and ideas.
Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition also has a Facebook page. You can do a search on FB, or click here if you wanna go there now. Tulsa Urban Wilderness Coalition Facebook page

Here's another snippet from the past dealing with the city's vision for Turkey Mountain and particularly the Mooser Creek Watershed. There is hours of reading, but this brief paragraph voices the original intent for the area. The longtime vision for Turkey Mountain
Obviously the powers that be have tossed these ideas into the trash can.

What can you/we do? Bob Doucette spells it out. You can read his latest blogpost here.  Proactive Outside