Before widespread agriculture, timber cutting and urban development, researchers estimate Oklahoma was home to more than 2 million acres of wetlands.
Human activities have caused that acreage to shrink by at least 67% over time, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Wetlands are areas completely covered or drenched in water, and they’re found across Oklahoma. Recognizable sites include the Red Slough Wildlife Management Area in McCurtain County or the panhandle’s playa lakes, which temporarily flood with rainwater.
Since most of Oklahoma is privately owned, conservation groups and government agencies have sought ways to help landowners voluntarily restore their wetlands.
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission, which was named the state’s wetland authority by the legislature in 1990, is now in its second year of a grant program called Restoring Natural Ecology in Wetlands (ReNEW). The initiative helps landowners rebuild degraded wetlands. The agency has $100,000 per cycle to complete the cost-share projects, a chunk allocated by the state starting in 2024.
Restoring wetlands means returning natural flood protection, pollution filtration and critical wildlife habitat. Some fish species like largemouth bass rely on wetlands as nursery grounds.
Brooks Tramell, director of monitoring, assessment and wetlands programs, said the commission wants to show how wetlands can coexist with agricultural and recreation land.
If an applicant doesn’t fit with ReNEW, he said the commission will try to find another way to help restore the wetland.
“It's much more expensive to try to replace one than it is to just take care of it,” Tramell said. “And we have relatively few left.”
The commission also received a grant from Google in August for other wetland work. The agency is set to use $2.3 million to remove invasive red cedar trees in central Oklahoma. The money will also go toward restoration work at playa lakes. The tech company said in a news release it granted the money to help protect community water resources.
Google operates a data center in Pryor and has plans for several others in Stillwater, Muskogee County and Tulsa County. But residents have pushed back against the energy and water-hungry facilities because of environmental concerns.
“As data centers evolve to support our growing digital world, we have both an opportunity and a responsibility to protect community water resources while investing in watersheds and public water infrastructure to ensure we all have a bright water future,” said Ben Townsend, Google’s global head of infrastructure strategy and sustainability.
The state’s ReNEW program is separate from the Google grant and focuses on small wetland projects across the state.
Three projects from the program’s first cycle, ranging from Stillwater to far northeast Oklahoma, are nearing the construction phase of their wetland restoration. Tramell said the commission wants to select at least three more landowners during the next cycle. Applications are open until Sept. 30.
Tramell said he hopes to see a variety of wetlands, from vernal pools to hundreds of acres, restored in Oklahoma.
“I think about what I want our kids and our grandkids to experience, and for me, it's how it fits in coexistence and how it's really a sustainability feature and ensures that we have what we have for a long time,” he said.
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