Oklahoma’s Wetlands Program
The Oklahoma Wetlands Program was formally created in 1990 when the Oklahoma Legislature directed the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC) to prepare a wetlands management strategy. Although OCC was appointed the lead agency, the Wetlands Program represents a collaborative effort among many partner agencies, tribes and organizations. Together these partners form the Oklahoma Wetland Workgroup (OWWG).
Wetland Program Plan 2013-2018
With guidance from the OWWG, Oklahoma's Comprehensive Wetland's Conservation Plan was published in 1996. This document established a foundation for the Oklahoma Wetlands Program, outlining objectives to meet the programmatic goal of, “improving the quantity and quality of wetlands in the state for the people of Oklahoma”. In 2013 the OWWG published a new program strategy document called a Wetland Program Plan (WPP). The current WPP developed for Oklahoma covers the five year period from 2013 to 2018. The WPP focuses primarily on the elements of “Monitoring and Assessment” and “Voluntary Restoration”. Some of the objectives for these elements are described below, as well as the progress that has been made towards meeting WPP action items.
Monitoring and Assessment:
In Oklahoma there is currently no formal monitoring and assessment program for wetlands. Therefore, the main objective is to develop sensible monitoring and assessment strategies to assist in tracking local and statewide trends in wetland condition, prioritizing and tracking restoration activities, and guiding mitigation projects. Significant progress has been made in meeting this objective in the past five years including:
a). Several projects were completed to develop a classification system for wetlands throughout Oklahoma that is based on wetland hydrology and setting in the landscape (e.g., adjacent to lake or stream, in a basin, or on a slope). For a key that can be used to sort wetlands into the appropriate category please click here:
 Development of a classification system for Oklahoma wetlands involved visiting over 200 unique wetlands across the state over the course of two years, including this riverine floodplain wetland on the Deep Fork River in Okfuskee County.
b). The Oklahoma Rapid Assessment Method (OKRAM) was created to identify wetland condition across the state. The method was developed with collaboration from our partners, Oklahoma State University and the Oklahoma Water Resources Board. OKRAM has been successfully applied in depressional wetlands statewide and progress has been made towards the application of OKRAM in lacustrine fringe wetlands, as well as in riverine wetlands. To determine if OKRAM reflects wetland condition we have conducted extensive studies to compare OKRAM scores with vegetation and invertebrate communities, as well as soil and water chemistry data.
Conducting OKRAM and vegetation surveys at a depressional wetland in Pottawatomie County in 2017.
c). We updated wetland maps in several areas of Oklahoma where existing National Wetland Inventory (NWI) maps were inaccurate. By updating these maps to reflect existing wetlands, we can better track wetland losses and gains, and prioritize locations for wetland restoration. New wetland maps can be found on the Wetland Program website: Wetland Mapping.
Map showing the original National Wetlands Inventory (orange) and the wetlands identified during OCC led remapping efforts (blue) in Kingfisher County.
Voluntary Restoration and Protection:
The primary objective outlined in the WPP is to establish clear wetland restoration, enhancement, creation, and protection goals. Wetland restoration and protection is especially important in Oklahoma, where close to 67% of wetland acreage has been lost.
Progress towards this goal includes the development of the Oklahoma Wetlands Registry, a tool designed to connect wetland owners, developers and agencies with each other for restoration opportunities. Landowners are able to advertise their land as restorable, and those in need of restoration can find a potential site to meet their needs. Citizens can submit requests to find or add restorable wetlands to the Wetland Registry through our website: Oklahoma Wetlands Program
Additionally, the Restorable Wetland Identification Protocol (RWIP) has been developed to identify and prioritize potential restoration sites. Once identified, high priority sites are listed in the Wetland Registry. To date, RWIP has been applied in 8 watersheds in Oklahoma. We are currently working to apply the protocol statewide to identify potential historic wetlands in each watershed that may be used for restoration.
This image displays the RWIP results for a portion of the North Canadian Watershed. Locations of potentially restorable wetlands are outlined in red.
Wetland Program Plan: 2019 and Beyond
Wetland program plans (WPP) set the priorities for a 5 to 6 year period; this allows us the opportunity to re-evaluate programmatic objectives periodically and set the future trajectory of the program. The current WPP is set to expire at the end of 2018, and OCC is planning the process to engage our partners to help guide the next 5 years of wetland projects in Oklahoma. The WPP process involves two sets of meetings. During the first set of meetings, technical partners such as government agencies, tribes, universities, and non-governmental organizations outline the activities and objectives that are critical towards advancing wetland management in Oklahoma. Once the technical workgroup produces a draft WPP, it is released to the Oklahoma Wetland Workgroup (OWWG) for consideration. The OWWG includes a broader array of interests in Oklahoma, and coordination through the OWWG helps us create a document that reflects the diverse interests of the population of our state. If you would like to engage in the WPP creation process, please contact Brooks Tramell (Brooks.Tramell@conservation.ok.gov).
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