A tenet in rightsizing government has been to look at need and capacity, and customize services so they are scaled to exactly the geographical area served.1 Policy gurus hail decentralization as a method of ‘not overbuying government.’2 Recently when attending a meeting of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission in Tahlequah, city Mayor Ken Purdy pointed out this trend and lauded decentralization as a form of efficiency that was important to the regional economy in Northeastern Oklahoma and Green Country. Moving operations to Oklahoma City would increase the net travel time for stakeholders. But, rather than drive 360 miles round trip most people would simple forego attending.…and especially so if a statewide agency is governing, simply because the perception would be that government is too big to listen to stakeholder insights. One of the dividends of local management is a rich multidirectional communications network.
Oklahoma Conservation Commission is generally regarded as being governed by a Board of Directors, both knowledgeable and committed to conservation efforts in Oklahoma. But there is no obvious method of imparting the wealth of historical knowledge of the facts and circumstances, the local views, the geography, and such. The lines of communication would not be bidirectional.
At present, OSRC rulemaking is by eleven diverse Citizen Volunteers comprising the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission uncompensated.3
Tahlequah Mayor Ken] Purdy also expressed concern about losing scenic-river representation. The decision-making Conservation Commission board's five members are from five areas of the state. Although the bill does call for a Scenic Rivers Advisory Council, Purdy said advice from those in the scenic-river area would not be binding.4
The Oklahoma Conservation Commission is a non-regulatory agency responsible for our state’s soil and water conservation efforts related to production agriculture, upstream flood protection strategies, non-point source lead agency for carrying out non-point source mgmt programs of the federal Clean Water Act, reclamation of abandoned mine land, wetlands, conservation education, carbon sequestration certification program and geographic information council.
The skill set is broader for the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission. It maintains a litter-free environment; builds, cleans and maintains toilet facilities; it mows and maintains the public access areas; it manages stream gaging sites for forecasting floating and flooding conditions; it conducts the abatement of navigational hazards; it conducts rescue response and does swift water rescue; it recovers drowning victims; performs law enforcement; it regulates commercial floating services offered and does oversight for potential hazards and improvements; it manages the licensing and user fee collection systems; it balances competing uses between stakeholders for multi-use; it provides tourist information; does planning and serves as a coordinating liason with other agencies. OSRC is the human face of the river, and it is the presence of Oklahoma in the tourism experience.
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