STIR Annual Meeting Postponed
Dear 2021 Save the Illinois River Members,
Our Annual Membership Meeting has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We regret this very much and look forward to good times when it's safe to gather in person and celebrate Oklahoma Scenic Rivers and Lake Tenkiller. STIR wishes to thank members of the Sequoyah Outing Club for their continued support and willingness to host our 2021 Annual Meeting.
Please look for a letter from STIR President Denise Deason-Toyne explaining how you can participate in the election of new officers and directors as would have occurred at the annual meeting. Because many members pay their dues at the annual meeting, please consider paying your 2022 STIR Membership dues now. Click on this link or mail dues to:
STIR
24369 E 757 RD
Tahlequah, OK 74464
The Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma does good work and is supported by organizations like Save the Illinois River, STIR. The Coalition is supporting important federal legislation which will allow the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife to give greater protection of our state's wildlife.
By KELLY BOSTIAN
For the CCOF
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation could see a nearly 28-percent funding boost if Congress passes the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act of 2021. The boost would be dedicated to nongame species that are “at-risk” or “of greatest conservation need.”
Supporters say the act, bolstered by growing bi-partisan support, could indeed pass this year—its fifth year in the halls of Congress. Oklahoma’s share, a $16.7 million annual disbursement, would mark a 20-fold increase for the state’s nongame Wildlife Diversity efforts. The boost would for the first time put nongame program funding, for songbirds, salamanders, bats, and some insects, at a level on par with sport fish and wild game management.
(READ MORE AT THIS LINK PLEASE)
https://oklahomaconservation.org/wildlife-conservation/...
Brief Announcements
Meeting on September 16, the STIR Board of Directors approved the nomination of Stephen Alyea for Director position. Stephen is Chief of the Illinois River Volunteer Fire Department, a resident of the Northeastern Outing Club, and operates a business on Highway 10 adjacent to the Illinois River Store.
Welcome, Stephen.
Your STIR officers and directors are President Denise Deason-Toyne; Vice President Barb Daily; Secretary-Treasurer Ed Brocksmith; and Directors Stephen Alyea, Gary Dill, Ed Fite, Nancy Garber, Jerry Hammons, and Gary Vandenbos.
STIR contributed $500 to the Annual Fall Tidy Up Tenkiller shoreline trash cleanup. This event this Fall also included scuba divers. STIR is an original sponsor of Tidy Up Tenkiller which was started after a tornado smashed into docks and homes on the lower end of Tenkiller, scattering debris up and down the lake. Tidy Up Tenkiller is winner of the 2020 Keep Oklahoma Beautiful Environmental Excellence Award.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers employees unload large chunks of Styrofoam scattered by storms and floods on Lake Tenkiller. STIR renewed its annual contributions of $500 to Keep Oklahoma Beautiful (KOB) and $500 to the Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma (CCO). KOB gives substantial support to litter cleanup activities in the Illinois River watershed including Tidy Up Tenkiller. The Conservation Coalition of Oklahoma supports STIR's efforts to protect water quality and Oklahoma Scenic Rivers. The organization closely monitors legislation and rulemaking activities at the Oklahoma Legislature, Oklahoma Water Resources Board, Wildlife Conservation Department, and Department of Environmental Quality.
STIR has contributed $5,000 to the Spring Creek Coalition to further its goals for protection of beautiful Spring Creek.
Spring Creek water quality is closely monitored by the Coalition which also conducts trash cleanups and public education programs in schools. Spring Creek, like the Illinois River, is threatened by pollution from point sources (sewage treatment plant) and nonpoint source pollution from poultry farms, animal feeding operations, and failing septic systems. STIR has worked closely with the Coalition to address the danger from numerous mega poultry farms approved in Delaware County and in the Illinois River watershed by the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture.
STIR's Board of Directors also allocated $1,500 for a scholarship for Northeastern State University students enrolled in the university's water quality program. The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) and NSU cooperated in establishing the program which will benefit the Illinois River, its tributaries, and Lake Tenkiller. The first scholarship will be awarded for the Spring Semester.
Through your membership, STIR is proud to support these worthy activities and organizations that share and bolster our mission of protecting and preserving the Illinois River, its tributaries, its aquifers, and Lake Tenkiller.
