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Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Set to Nearly Triple in Size

Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness

Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness Area is getting much bigger.

River Parks Authority accepted donations Thursday of 222 acres from the George Kaiser Family Foundation and 198 acres from the City of Tulsa. The city-county authority has one more hoop to jump through.

"There’s one technicality that has to happen yet. When the River Parks Authority receives property, it has to be approved by both the city and the county," said River Parks Authority Executive Director Matt Meyer. "So, we have to run the traps there, but I’m confident that will be approved."

Those parcels join 227 acres River Parks already has title to, bringing Turkey Mountain Urban Wilderness to almost 650 acres.

"This is huge for the quality of life in Tulsa, and, you know, outdoor recreation is one of the things that keeps young people ... in Tulsa," Meyer said.

River Parks will need to come up with a master plan for all that space.

"And all the Turkey Mountain people — the trail runners, the hikers, the mountain bikers, the equestrians — they’ll all get a chance to be involved," Meyer said.

River Parks recently agreed to terms on a long-term lease with the city for its land, which included assurances the George Kaiser Family Foundation was looking for before it donated the land it started acquiring in 2004.

Matt Trotter joined KWGS as a reporter in 2013. Before coming to Public Radio Tulsa, he was the investigative producer at KJRH. His freelance work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times and on MSNBC and CNN.