Power for Progress…A weekly column from the Grand River Dam Authority Preserving a Grand view …

Ecosystems Education …  GRDA Watershed Ecologist Bill Mausbach speaks with middle school students during their visit to the GRDA Ecosystems and Education Center (Langley). Sharing the watershed management message through education programs is just one the ways the department meets its natural stewardship mission.

The windows lining one side of the Grand River Dam Authority Ecosystems and Watershed Management’s water research laboratory actually look out onto the waters of Grand Lake. That is fitting, considering the purpose of the lab.

Created in 1935 to be a “conservation and reclamation district” for the waters of the Grand River, stewardship of the natural resources (Grand River watershed) under its control, has always been a top GRDA priority. In 2016, those efforts also expanded to include the scenic Illinois River.

While much water quality research takes place in the lab, and an additional lab located on the campus of Northeastern State University, the department’s efforts reach all across the waters. From shoreline and fisheries enhancement efforts to bald eagle monitoring, land management and public outreach and other programs, GRDA’s natural stewardship efforts are broad.

However, the efforts do not take place in a vacuum. Since its beginnings, the department has worked with other resource and research agencies not only in Oklahoma but also all across the watershed area. It is also working with landowners and lake users on new programs like the “Guard the Grand” (www.grda.com/guard-the-grand).

Collaboration with these partners is intended to benefit not only the watershed, but also those who live, work, and play near its banks. Protecting and preserving these valuable natural resources means protecting, preserving, and promoting economic development and quality of life. Those are also top GRDA priorities.

So, as the windows of the lab look out across Grand Lake, it is a daily reminder to GRDA’s team of the real and valuable impact of water research, data collection and public outreach programs all intended to benefit not only fish and waterfowl, but also the thousands of Oklahomans who utilize these resources.

GRDA is Oklahoma’s largest public power utility; fully funded by revenues from electric and water sales instead of taxes. Each day, GRDA strives to be an “Oklahoma agency of excellence” by focusing on the 5 E’s: electricity, economic development, environmental stewardship, employees, and efficiency.

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