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| Indian Nations Audubon Society Eastern Oklahoma Muskogee, Tahlequah, Wagoner Fort Gibson & Tenkiller Lakes |
| The Lake Atoka Forest - A Unique Wilderness In Peril |
| Lake Atoka Forest Lake Atoka in background |
| The Lake Atoka Forest of southeastern Oklahoma, a remaining, rare fragment of the Ancient Cross Timbers Forest ecotone, has stood for eons. The Forest straddles North Boggy Creek at the western edge of the Ouachita Mountains uplift. Through the centuries, the Forest and its bird and wildlife inhabitants have existed in a state of grace; an undiluted, pristine ecosystem functioning without human intervention. The Caddo Indians, a hunter-agriculture people, arrived later and lived in the Forest with minimal impact. The Caddo culture had emerged by 900 A.D. in the area. Hernando de Soto’s expedition entered the region in the early 1540s but did not reach this area. European explorers and traders began making their way into this area of southeastern Oklahoma first in a trickle and then in a stream. In the 1830s the Trail of Tears, the forced removal of Native American tribes to Oklahoma, began and the Choctaw Nation eventually resided in this area. The European westward migration continued into this region. Human impact on southeastern Oklahoma became pronounced in the 1800s and into the 1900s. Logging of the great forests of southeastern Oklahoma began during this period. An increasing population with numerous settlements and intense natural resource extraction began taking a toll on the area. The interior of the Forest with “draws, hollows, and holes” was bypassed primarily due to inaccessibility. North Boggy Creek is rough country and other timber was much more easily harvested. In the more accessible areas, the legendary Texas Road and the Butterfield Overland Stage Route skirted the fringes of the Lake Atoka Forest. Even the Lake Atoka Forest did not completely escape the human footprint. Still there remained deep in the interior those secluded, quiet wild places rarely seen by human eyes. These special places continue the cycle of life each day, year, and century as always and have been long before a human set foot there. During the 1950s, the North Boggy Creek watershed was acquired through public condemnation for a water utility project. In 1959, the City of Oklahoma City had impounded North Boggy Creek and Lake Atoka was formed. The Forest now bordered Lake Atoka and was the property of the City of Oklahoma City. For some years this fact protected the Forest from private logging. Ironically, this fact would also ultimately endanger the Lake Atoka Forest with permanent ecological catastrophe. Lake Atoka was now a public water supply for the City of Oklahoma City and the Lake Atoka Forest was the immediate watershed. The Forest, remote for centuries, was now accessible by boat. Human impact was increasing due to recreation, hunting, and fishing yet this disturbance was still minimal compared to the surrounding countryside. This impact was also a mere trifle compared to what the City of Oklahoma City has ultimately planned for the Forest. The fortunes and prospects of the ancient Lake Atoka Forest took an unexpected turn in the 1990s. The owner of the Forest, the City of Oklahoma City, inexplicably determined that the high turbidity of Lake Atoka was caused by the Forest itself! That is, the Lake Atoka Forest was causing sediment runoff from the watershed into Lake Atoka and therefore reducing the quality of the public water supply. Oklahoma City’s incomprehensible conclusion and final solution is to log the Lake Atoka Forest to increase water quality. This solution is in direct contradiction to modern watershed management practices and procedures. In fact, watershed management recognizes logging as one of the main causes of erosion and therefore decreased water quality! A municipality, the City of Oklahoma City, wants to go into the logging business and the Lake Atoka Forest is the objective. Ten years ago, a small group of determined individuals began the defense of the Forest from Oklahoma City’s logging attempts. Over the years a Save Lake Atoka coalition grew and other organizations have joined in the defense. Save Lake Atoka states as its objective: To stop the logging of the Lake Atoka Forest by the City of Oklahoma City and thereby preserve & protect habitat, heritage, & history at Lake Atoka for future generations of Americans. There is more to the Forest than trees, we often forget of the diverse and numerous residents. Birds, mammals, reptiles, insects, plants, flowers, and amphibians are part of this wooded continuum. Each performing their function and purpose so that yet another can live. The trees that have stood for ages are the infrastructure for this interrelatedness. An ecosystem that time has proven a success. Yet the Lake Atoka Forest is interconnected to such far away locales as the Andes Mountains of South America and the Boreal Forests of Alaska and Canada. The permanent residents of the Lake Atoka Forest have cyclical visitors that are an integral part of the annual dynamics and rhythm. These visitors are also truly inhabitants of the Forest and contribute to the vitality – Neotropical migratory birds. These birds include swifts, swallows, warblers, flycatchers, vireos, sparrows – well in excess of 100 species. In spring some of these migrants stop over en route to such distant places as the Boreal Forest of Alaska and Canada. Some utilize the Forest as nesting habitat and stay the summer, contributing their efforts to the Forest. In late summer, these travelers begin their journey back to the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. The cycle of life continues and the interconnectedness affirmed. We at Save Lake Atoka are determined to stop the logging to prevent habitat loss and ecosystem degradation. We are intent on preserving and protecting habitat, heritage, and history at Lake Atoka. Our vision is for the Lake Atoka Forest to remain one of the “wild places” forever. Only when that day arrives will the Forest continue as a rare, old-growth mixed post oak and short-leaf pine fragment of the Ancient Cross Timbers Forest ecotone for future generations of Americans. The City of Oklahoma City’s attempt at watershed logging may well be the only recorded instance in written history whereby a forest was thought to cause erosion. This unanimous decision to approve logging by the City Council of Oklahoma City on July 5, 2005 was made without even seeing the Lake Atoka Forest. Certainly not one Council member has ever walked into or through the Forest. By actually walking through the Forest, as I have along with numerous scientists, an obvious conclusion is reached: the Lake Atoka Forest is not causing erosion. Trees don’t cause erosion; people do by their man-made ground disturbances. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment was carried out between 2001 and 2005 to assess the consequences of ecosystem change for human well-being and to establish the scientific basis for actions needed to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of ecosystems and their contributions to human well-being. Approximately 1,360 experts from 95 countries were involved as authors of the assessment reports, as participants in the sub-global assessments, or as members of the Board of Review Editors. Continued habitat loss and ecosystem degradation were two of the key findings of the Assessment. Deforestation is a primary reason for this. The attempted logging by the City of Oklahoma City, for invalid reasons, is yet another example of the plight we find ourselves and future generations in. /s/ David Dyer September 11, 2005 Save Lake Atoka Indian Nations Audubon Society Oklahoma Sierra Club |
| Caney High School field trip Lake Atoka Forest - October 2005 |
| "We can try and kill all that is native, string it up by its hind legs for all to see, but spirit howls and wilderness endures. Anticipate resurrection." Terry Tempest Williams |