Oklahoma Conservation Commission

08/10/2026

The Project WET, Project WILD, and Project Learning Tree Facilitators' Retreat, held at the Chickasaw Retreat & Conference Center, was an incredible time for our facilitators to connect, learn, and plan for the year ahead.

These dedicated volunteer facilitators work within Oklahoma communities to bring environmental education materials and lesson plans to schools and non-formal education settings through workshops and events for educators.

Congratulations to Nicole Black for receiving the 2026 Facilitator of the Year Award!

Learn more about Project WET & Project WILD here: https://www.bluethumbok.com/project-wet--project-wild.html

Project WET

08/07/2026

08/07/2026

Summer monitoring on our Terry Peach Restoration Research Project is complete! ☀️

This concluded year three out of five of monitoring various methods of managing Eastern Red Cedar. This project aims to determine the best management option for cedar removal and ecosystem recovery. The two management methods for mechanical removal are mechanical mulching and mulching + reseeding with a native plant mix.

OCC’s Soil Health Team & Water Quality Division spent four days taking various soil health tests and measurements within the Persimmon Creek Watershed to assess vegetation, hydrologic, and soil health data.

08/06/2026

Most producers think about stocking rate as a simple equation: animals per acre, or acres per animal. Noble senior regenerative ranching advisor Charles Rohla reframes it as something more useful — a business decision.

In a recent episode of the Ranching Returns Podcast, Rohla breaks down the relationship between carrying capacity and stocking rate, and why understanding the difference between the two is one of the most important things a producer can do for long-term profitability.

Carrying capacity, he explains, is what your land can actually support — calculated from grazable acres, forage production, utilization and the daily demand of your livestock. Stocking rate, on the other hand, is your risk tolerance relative to that carrying capacity. A stocker operation with flexible marketing options might run at 90% of carrying capacity. A purebred cow-calf producer who won't sell under any circumstances might run at 50%.

The sweet spot for most operations? Rohla puts peak profitability at roughly 70 to 80% of carrying capacity — enough buffer to weather a dry year and enough flexibility to capitalize on an abundant one.

"Stocking rate is truly just a management decision of how comfortable are we — and to me, that becomes a business decision," Rohla says.

Listen to the full episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBAm125mJJ0

08/06/2026

08/06/2026

Please join us on September 9

08/05/2026

Intensive management vs little to no management after wildfire. Take advantage of what a disaster hands you to get a jump start on cedar control.

08/05/2026

Making lemonade out of lemons. This Kansas ranch had the Anderson Creek fire go through it in 2016. The ranch manager has used prescribed fire to keep control of the invasive woody species.

08/05/2026

It is better to be lucky than good any day, but especially on a field day in August!! 71 degrees in Kansas for the Great Plains fire summit.