Press Release

Illinois River Survey Group Photography Exhibit
One Williams Center  |  Tulsa, OK  now until May 3, 2012.

 Exhibition imagery of the Illinois River Watershed from Illinois River Survey photographers and from the book The Illinois River Survey: A Visual Record

Illinois River Survey Group Photography Exhibition Photographers:  Kim Baker, Tyler Bright, Lesa Cordle, Mike Fuhr, Nancy Garber,  Jay Pruett, R.E. Lindsey, and Scott Smith.

The Illinois River Survey is a collaborative, image-based conservation photography initiative organized by Oklahoma-based nature and conservation photographer, Kim Baker. Baker began the project with the mission to create and use compelling photography that has the power to inform and change people’s minds about the need for conservation and preservation of the Illinois River, its tributaries Flint Creek and the Barren Fork River, and its impoundment, Tenkiller Ferry Lake.

The Illinois River Survey is a collaborative, image-based conservation photography initiative organized by Oklahoma-based nature and conservation photographer, Kim Baker. Baker began the project with the mission to create and use compelling photography that has the power to inform and change people’s minds about the need for conservation and preservation of the Illinois River, its tributaries Flint Creek and the Barren Fork River, and its impoundment, Tenkiller Ferry Lake.

 The Illinois River Survey: A Visual Record tells the story of the Illinois River through powerful imagery and important essays. Oklahoma authors include Brad Agnew, Kim Baker, Sheilah Bright, Priscilla Crawford, and Mike Fuhr, with a special introduction by John Gifford and foreword by Drew Edmondson. Beginning with the history and rich cultural heritage of the Illinois River to the region, local river communities, and Tahlequah, the book focuses on the rivers unique ecological communities with an emphasis on the natural services the rivers provides and the power photography and conservation initiatives have in preserving the river. For more information visit www.oklacps.com

Viewing Hours: Monday -Friday 9:00am – 5:00pm. Closed Sat & Sun.

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Governor Mary Fallin and Oklahoma Secretary of the Environment Gary Sherrer were recently presented with copies of The Illinois River Survey: A Visual Record during a presentation in the Blue Room at the Oklahoma State Capitol. Pictured are Kim Baker, STIR President Denise Deason-Toyne and STIR representative, along with Governor Fallin and Secretary Sherrer.

OVAC CAP Grant Announcement

Time was against us and the group turned around before reaching what I am told is the best and most scenic waterfall – a good excuse to go back. With 15,000 acres of oak-hickory forest, pine woodland, shrub land, oak savannah, and prairie, the J.T. Nickel Preserve is one of the best places to explore the rich diversity of the Ozark eco region.

Due to the dangerous river conditions, we had to cancel the float trip for the Illinois River  Survey. However, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch provided by Save the Illinois River Survey (STIR) and the amazing group at the Illinois River Village, where we enjoyed live music, BBQ and wonderful deserts made by STIR board member and Blue Thumb water quality volunteer, Kathy Tibbits in the village’s clubhouse.

After lunch, we all trekked down to the river for some additional live music along the riverbank as we watched Cheryl Cheadle and Jean Lemmon with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s Blue Thumb program demonstrate seining, checking water clarity using a secchi disk, and checking the water for pH, chloride, and dissolved oxygen.

Seining is fishing using a large fishing net with weights at the bottom and floats along the top. The Blue Thumb program uses the seine nets to catch small fish and benthic macro invertebrates for biological collection, to get an idea of the aquatic diversity in streams and rivers.

For 18 years, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s Blue Thumb program has trained a small army of volunteers who monitor stream quality including water chemistry, stream life, and physical parameters in the state’s fishable and swimmable streams. Their work provides important clues that help determine a stream’s health.  

Excess algae is a major issue in the Illinois River. Algae have the ability to negatively impact  aquatic communities in a water body. Part of the natural food chain, algae in excess can adversely affect available oxygen levels and aquatic communities. During the day, algae produces oxygen through photosynthesis, when there is too much algae the water can get supersaturate, at night the algae consumes oxygen, the swings in oxygen levels challenge aquatic life. A healthy stream is one in which oxygen levels stay steady.

Excess phosphorous and high nitrogen levels in the Illinois River from over-application of chicken litter to fields, as fertilizer is non-point source pollution. Nitrogen along with phosphorus feeds algae, increasing algae growth. The recent flooding in the Illinois River helped clean the river at the same time it enabled run-off events that swept additional chicken litter into creeks and small streams, tributaries of the Illinois River.

The Illinois River is an important natural resource. The natural services the river provides are valuable to the river communities, Tahlequah, and the surrounding region. The river provides and supports the people within its watershed in many ways, it takes away our waste, provides economic benefits, recreation, cultural heritage, and less intrinsically, a place to renew our souls. One of the best things you can do is to get to know a river.

New Mexico artist, Fran Hardy and filmmaker Bob Demboski met me Friday afternoon to film preliminary segments of the Illinois River Survey for Fran’s Creative-Native Project. Fran and Bob both expressed their appreciation of the beauty of the Illinois River and the surrounding area.

The rain stopped for a brief respite long enough for us to get a chance to go on location for some B-roll, filmmaking-speak for supplemental or alternate footage intercut with the main shot in an interview or documentary.

We explored a section of the river that was greatly changed after the recent floods.   
We strolled along the shoreline of the river on a new two-hundred foot long and 100 foot-wide gravel bar that did not exist before the 500-year flood that inundated the area a month earlier. And some places where gravel bars once lined the shoreline now there are only muddy banks.

The Illinois River has great wildlife diversity, including resident eagles. As we shot film we spotted two bald eagles, one perched high in a tree, a young eagle with its brown feathers still and its mother, with her distinctive white head and amazing wing-span flying high overhead keeping an “eagle” eye on us and her youngster.

Rain continued to fall most of the day Friday and into the night, effectively ruining the fireside aspect of the Illinois River Survey’s Friday night fireside chat. Regardless of the pouring rain, Illinois River Survey participants met in my rented yurt for microwaved smores and interesting conversation as we all got to know each other better.

Conservation in Focus | Illinois River Survey in focus

The Creative – Native Project

Fran Hardy, artist and Bob Demboski, co-producer and filmmaker are producing a series of documentaries that bring together the intersection of art, creativity, ecological sustainability and preserving the diverse cultures in different regions of the United States. Their documentaries air on PBS stations, nationally on FEC-TV, and at museums in combination with installations by artist and co-producer Fran Hardy, and other featured creative individuals and are used as educational tools by various groups. To see Fran’s work especially her focus on and love of ancient trees and forests go to www.franhardy.com

Fran Hardy:
We will be doing a show on Oklahoma in collaboration with the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Kim Baker will be the first artist we interview as well as documenting her Illinois River Survey events May 20-22, 2011. We are impressed with the work that Kim is doing with her photography to bring attention to the beauty of Oklahoma and the need to preserve it, especially the rivers. We will be updating our website over the next month to show where we will be going and who we will be interviewing in Oklahoma. To see more about the shows go to www.creativenativeproject.com www.creativenativeproject.blogspot.com