Reflecting on the 27th Tar Creek Conference

Bison painting created by Oklahoma painter Chris Mantle

Earlier this month, LEAD Agency held our 27th National Environmental Tar Creek Conference on Oct. 7, 8 and 9 at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Miami. 

To kick off this year’s conference, on October 4 we co-hosted an inaugural disc golf tournament, the Tar Creek Open, at the Veterans Memorial Disc Golf Course, located near Tar Creek in what used to be a residential neighborhood before residents were forced to move due to repeated flooding. It’s been our dream for many years to host a disc golf tournament. Paul Marquez, a member of LEAD Agency, made that dream possible. Bridgit Sult, an AmeriCorps Intern, created a 10-minute documentary called “From Floodplain to Fairway,” which debuted at the conference. The film explores the loss of Miami residents and the place’s rebirth as a community gathering place, featuring interviews with residents and tournament players.

Our 27th National Environmental Tar Creek Conference was a wonderful success, uniting activists, nonprofits, artists, community members, tribal nations, researchers and experts from across the country for a one-of-a-kind experience. 

Our theme this year was “It is in the water,” named after a painting created by Peoria artist, Jonny Skye, which our t-shirts and booklets were modeled after. We also featured works by painter Liz Dueck, welder and poet Doug Lee, nature and wildlife photographer Tom Whipple, photographer Matt Black, a 2025 Macarthur genius grant recipient, and Chris Mantle, who live-painted a breathtaking bison.

For the first time, we dedicated Tuesday to collaborations with community members, activists, and nonprofit groups, who were able to network, ask questions and share strategies on fighting environmental challenges. We look forward to making this a regular part of the conference in future years. Dr. Joby Taylor, our keynote speaker, inspired and uplifted us with his presentation on “Holding Hope in the Struggle,” which set a positive, forward-looking tone for the conference.

Several members of the LEAD Agency team presented on Tuesday including Martin Lively, Kimberly Barker, Naomi Andrews, Bailey Stephenson, Rebecca Jim and Gina Manders. Tuesday evening featured an artist reception and open mic night. 

On Wednesday, presenters focused on clean water, soil, mussels, conservation, tallgrass prairie restoration and research at the Tar Creek Superfund site. During lunch, Eliza Lynch and Ainsley Crist hosted a poster session entitled “Heavy Metals in Floodplain Soils Along Recreational Areas of Tar Creek: Understanding the Role of Flooding and Informing Interventions.”

Wednesday’s keynote speaker, Kelly Hunter Foster, Senior Attorney at Waterkeeper Alliance, examined recent deregulatory actions by the Environmental Protection Agency. In the evening, attendees were treated with an Indian taco dinner before wrapping up with an outdoor screening of the film “Drowned Land” followed by a Q&A session with director, Colleen Thurston.

On Thursday, we focused on flooding, public health and the future of the Tar Creek Superfund site. Ethan McMahan, our summer intern and a meteorology student at the University of Oklahoma, started the day off discussing his findings about what caused the 2007 and 2019 floods that devastated Miami. Later, LEAD’s Paul Marquez and Kelly Main of Buy-In for Communities presented results from our Household Survey Report, which detailed survey responses from floodplain residents. In the afternoon, we held a health panel with area doctors for the audience to ask questions about health effects of lead and other toxic heavy metals. We awarded scholarships to students and our Mike Synar Environmental Excellence Awards to Ellen Isbell and Brian Stanila with Oklahoma DEQ. Nature and wildlife photographer Tom Whipple closed out the conference with his captivating shots of local birds and flowers.

At this year’s conference, three Memorial Scholarships were awarded to graduating high school seniors. We honored a former board member and volunteer, Jill Micka, who passed away in December 2024. A Miami High School graduate, Micka had worked with LEAD Agency through AmeriCorps and later served as a LEAD Board member until she resigned due to health reasons.

The Jill Micka Memorial Scholarship was awarded to Micka’s niece, Bailey McCarty. McCarty is a 2025 Miami High School graduate and is currently attending Northeast Tech at Afton with the goal of becoming a registered nurse to specialize in labor and delivery.

A former environmental specialist for the Quapaw Nation and one of the original founding members of LEAD Agency, the Meredith Garvin Memorial Scholarship, was awarded to Averi Attocknie, a Quapaw High School graduate. The third awardee, Berkeley Ulrey, an Oklahoma Math and Science School graduate and current Princeton University student, received the Don Ackerman Memorial Scholarship.

Lastly, we want to thank our LEAD Agency AmeriCorps interns, Bridgit Sult and MJ Giles, as well as part-time employees, Vera Mustain, who all worked diligently throughout the conference, and Elaine Irvin who did much of the community outreach we needed prior to the event. We’re incredibly grateful for everyone who attended the conference, whether in-person or online, and we’re looking forward to what’s in store in 2026.