Oklahoma Conservation Commission


The Oklahoma Conservation Commission is an agency of the government of Oklahoma under the Governor of Oklahoma. It is the duty of the Commission to conserve Oklahoma's land and water. The Commission is also responsible for upstream flood control protection, a state-funded conservation cost-share program, reclamation of abandoned mine land and non point source water quality monitoring, planning, and management, in addition to a variety of educational and informational activities.
The Commissison is composed of five members, appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate. The Commission, in turn, appoints an Executive Director to manage the day-to-day operations of the Commission.
The Commission was created in 1971 during the term of Governor David Hall.

Mission

To conserve, protect and restore Oklahoma's natural resources, working in collaboration with the conservation districts and other partners, on behalf of the citizens of Oklahoma.

Leadership

The Commission is administered by the Secretary of Agriculture, the Chair of Commission, and the Executive Director of the Commission. Under Governor Mary Fallin, Jim Reese is serving as the Secretary and Trey Lam is serving as the Executive Director.

Commission Membership

The Commission is composed of five members, appointed by the Governor with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate, to serve a five-year term. Each member of the Commission is appointed from one of the five districts of the State. Each member appointed must be, at the time of his appointment, a Conservation District Director. Each member of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission shall be a Conservation District Director during the entire term as a Commission member. At least than three members of said Commission must engage in farming or ranching as their primary profession.
As of 2013, the members of the Commission are:
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission provides assistance to Oklahoma's 85 conservation districts and to the public in order to foster a sense of care, wise use and best management of Oklahoma's renewable natural resources. The conservation districts in Oklahoma are grouped into five areas in the state. Each area is represented by a Conservation Commission board member. Administration of the agency is carried out by an executive director.
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission and conservation districts accomplish conservation of renewable natural resources through soil and water conservation, landuse planning, small watershed upstream flood control, abandoned mine land reclamation, water quality monitoring, environmental education and wetlands conservation.

Organization

The Conservation Commission, with an annual budget of just under $30 million, is one of the smaller employers of the State. For fiscal year 2010, the Commission was authorized 71 full-time employees.
DivisionNumber of Employees
Administration12
Watershed Operations and Maintenance6
Field Services2
Abandoned Mine Land Reclamation9
Water Quality42
Total71

Conservation Districts

The State is divided into 85 Conservation Districts organized by local residents. Each conservation district office offers a variety of natural resource information including soil surveys. Conservation districts provide services to large segments of the public, including farmers, ranchers, community planners, public health officials, developers, educators, students, and rural and urban citizens.
Each District is governed by a Conservation District Board composed of three members are elected by the people of the district and two members are appointed by the Commission. The elected members serve staggered three-year terms with one being elected each year. The appointed members serve staggered two-year terms with one being appointed each year.