By John Dobberstein, Editor
The city is eyeing the Bluff Landing Recreation Area adjoining the Verdigris River to be enhanced as a “nature and wildlife area” that will be a regional draw.
The Broken Arrow City Council will vote Tuesday whether to ask staff to retain a consulting firm to do a study for enhancing Bluff Landing, as has been directed in the Broken Arrow NEXT Comprehensive Plan, approved in 2019, and Open Space Master Plan.
One of the plan’s goals is “preserving natural open space areas for viewing nature and passive recreation activities,” the city says.
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Oklahoma State Department of Tourism has operated camping and boating in the area for years, “however there is considerable amount of floodplain land adjoining the river which has not been utilized,” the city says.
The area adjoins the city’s water treatment facility, as well as lands that are in the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Verdigris River Lock & Dam.)
The study is meant to explore “the true long-range potential of such a natural preservation area.”
The cost for the study is estimated $30,000 to be paid out of the capital outlay fund. Once a firm is hired, it will review and diagnose the study area, which lies within the Broken Arrow fence line adjoining the west bank of the river.
When hired, the firm will coordinate with city staff goals in the comprehensive plan, develop guidelines and features with input from an advisory committee for a destination wilderness area, and present its findings to the city’s planning commission and city council.
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