Tenkiller Property.com Newsletter

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Tenkiller Property.com Newsletter January 2012

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In This Issue

-- The Wolf at Tenkiller is Begining to Howl!

-- Take On The Winter Survey Bird Challenge

-- Eagle Tours and Live Eagle Cam!

-- Looking Upstream from Save The Illinois River

-- Area Events

-- Fishing & Waterfowl Report

-- Happy New Year!

Dear George,

Lots of things are happening in the Lake Tenkiller area, and we would like to share a little of it with you. Thanks so much for being one of the 1800+ subscribers! We Love Lake Tenkiller! Celebrating 16 years of Service to the area.

I am very glad to say GOOD RIDDANCE to 2011 and so look forward to 2012. With 2011 starting with record cold and snow, to record spring flooding, to record heat and drought, to the uncalled for blue-green algae warnings from the Corp (in my opinion), and with the soft economy looming in the background, I am searching for a stronger phrase than GOOD RIDDANCE 2011. If Mother Nature will just be a little more kind to us this year, and the Corp will become more realistic in their warnings, I feel the economy will shape up to bless us with one incredible year. So here is to a Happy New Year to Lake Tenkiller 2012! RIP 2011.

The Wolf at Tenkiller is Begining to Howl!

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The Wolf at Tenkiller is Now Open!

The Wolf at Tenkiller, located in scenic East Lake Hills, has officially opened their bar & grill, driving range and The Duck Club, one of the only duck pin bowling alleys west of the Mississippi!

The Bar & Grill offers home made fare such as hand patted hamburgers, hand cut fries and onion rings and will soon be offering daily lunch and dinner specials! It also has a nice selection of cocktails and both strong and low point beer. The driving range is open daily for those wishing to knock some of the winter rust off of their golf games and lessons from

The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's Winter Bird Feeder Survey starts Jan. 5 and gives wildlife enthusiasts and their families an exciting way to kick off the New Year. Attracting birds and maintaining backyard feeders for wintering birds is popular in both urban and rural areas of Oklahoma. People in both places can help the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation by participating in the survey while also getting close-up views of a number of unique birds. Any Oklahoman with a backyard bird feeder can participate by choosing any two days between Jan. 5-8 to count birds at their feeders and record their observations. And according to Rachel Bradley, wildlife diversity specialist for the Wildlife Department, attracting birds to backyard feeders is not difficult. "Just provide food, water and some cover," Bradley said.

The survey includes counting birds at backyard feeders at least four times a day for two days during the survey dates and completing a form provided by the Wildlife Department. For detailed instructions and to take the survey, log on to the Wildlife Department's Winter Bird Feeder Survey website at okwinterbirds.com. The website is an extensive bird-watching resource that provides species identification tips, bird diets, feeding behaviors and winter ranges as well as links to other birding websites. The site also details how to draw birds to backyard feeders using homemade bird attractants that are both healthy and beneficial to wintering birds.

While anyone who has a bird feeder can participate in the 2012 Winter Bird Feeder Survey, certain efforts can be made to attract more birds to feeders. Black-oil sunflower seed is a good choice for bird feeders because of its high protein content for birds during the winter and because virtually all seed-eating Oklahoma songbirds will eat it. Other seed options are white proso millet, nyjer ("thistle") or safflower. Suet cakes - animal fat that is sometimes mixed with grains or peanut butter, are good for drawing in species such as woodpeckers and birds that do not primarily eat seeds. Finally, a source of water and cover such as brush piles or dense shrubs located near the feeders helps draw more birds.

Among the top birds seen last year at backyard feeders during the survey were the American goldfinch, dark-eyed junco, red-winged blackbird, northern cardinal, mourning dove, house finch, Carolina chickadee and blue jay, but participants also documented sightings of wild turkeys, warblers, kinglets and others.

To learn more about the survey or to participate, log on to www.okwinterbirds.com.

Eagle Tours and Live Eagle Cam!

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Come to the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge for a tour featuring southern bald eagles on the nest. You will begin the tour by watching eagles from the refuge's webcam and continue the tour on the 25-person tour bus. Guests are encouraged to bring binoculars. After spending the morning at the refuge, take a break and have a leisurely lunch in Vian. Then, make your way to Tenkiller State Park for more eagles and lots of loons, including the common loon, the red-throated loon, the pacific loon and the yellow-billed loon. Come out and enjoy this famed bird of the northeast and beyond. Tours will occur unless there is a travel advisory for the area.

Eagle Tour & Loon Watch Schedule:

January 21; Eagle Tour: 9am-12pm, Loon Watch: 2pm.
January 28; Eagle Tour: 9am-12pm, Loon Watch: 2pm.
February 4; Eagle Tour: 9am-12pm, Loon Watch: 2pm.
February 11; Eagle Tour: 9am-12pm, Loon Watch: 2pm.
February 18; Eagle Tour: 9am-12pm, Loon Watch: 2pm.
February 25; Eagle Tour: 9am-12pm, Loon Watch: 2pm.
March 3; Eagle Tour: 9am-12pm, Loon Watch: 2pm.

Watch a live feed from the Sequoyah Wildlife refuge of a bald eagle nesting with the firsrst egg laid Dec 17, 2011 and the second egg laid Dec 20, 2011. The Bald Eagle nest cam project provides an intimate view of wild Oklahoma Bald Eagle nests. Children and adults from Oklahoma and around the world can observe life in an eagle nest, and scientists can make observations that will help us better understand the life history of our national symbol.

See the tracking map of a male bald eagle that left the refuge last spring,

Contact Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge & Tenkiller State Park, Vian, OK 74962, Phone: 918-489-5641, 918-489-5025, Fax: 918-489-2111

Eagle Cam located at the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge south of Vian

Looking Upstream from Save The Illinois River

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Very big issues are scheduled to occur and opponents of scenic rivers protection are lobbying hard. Because these coming changes will be beneficial to the Illinois River and Lake Tenkiller, STIR remains optimistic.

The Oklahoma Water Resources Board is expected to act on the phosphorus limit for scenic rivers, something that STIR members are largely responsible for. It appears that a committee reviewing the .037 mg/l phosphorus limit will recommend that the limit not be weakened. However, great pressure is being exerted by northwestern Arkansas businesses and political leaders. Phosphorus levels in the Illinois River are declining but are still well above the .037 limit at our state border. It is important to note that critics of the .037 phosphorus limit have not offered an alternative proposal. The limit is due to go into effect in July this year and must be met by both Arkansas and Oklahoma.

A northwest Arkansas economic development organization is raising funds to do its own water quality study. The U.S.G.S. also is conducting further studies of the watershed. As STIR President Denise Deason-Toyne said, STIR welcomes these studies and urges that they be objective, scientific, and are shared with all watershed stakeholders. "Everyone in the watershed has a vested interest in improving and maintaining and improving water quality in the watershed," said Deason-Toyne. "Water is life. Clean water is good for business." The U.S. EPA is due this summer to complete a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study of pollutants in the Illinois River Watershed. Under the Clean Water Act, both Oklahoma and Arkansas were to have done TMDLs years ago but they have not. The EPA TMDL for the Illinois River and for Tenkiller Lake will establish how much pollution is allowed from point sources such as city sewage plants. In addition, it hopefully will have an impact on the huge amount of nonpoint source pollution coming from fields fertilized with poultry waste.

The TMDL study is drawing a great deal of attention in northwest Arkansas where cities may have to further reduce their phosphorus discharge. The poultry industry may be singled out for dramatic changes in the way it operates. The runoff of phosphorus contained in poultry litter is not regulated by federal and state government. As 2011 drew to a close, Oklahoma's two U.S. Senators and Oklahoma Congressman Dan Boren joined Arkansas Congress members in signing a letter to the EPA expressing concern about the TMDL process. As the Muskogee Phoenix reported, the letter appears to be an effort to steer the outcome of the TMDL study. STIR is mystified by the purpose of the Congressmen's letter since, without adequate pollution control, Green Country's economy and our quality of life will be seriously damaged.

In summary, 2011 was quiet on the Illinois River and Tenkiller Lake because of very large, important decisions scheduled to b made this new year. Those issues, the .037 mg/l phosphorus limit and the EPA TMDL, are reasons why STIR is optimistic for the future. But, that optimism could be destroyed by decisions driven by powerful special interests. And still out there, looming hugely, is the poultry lawsuit decision by U.S. District Court Judge Gregory Frizzell in Tulsa. Why he has not ruled yet is another puzzle.