Commission approves parts of the Illinois River Management Plan

Wednesday, February 16th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- Just when it looked like members of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission would sink into the verbal slugfest that has characterized their past few meetings, the body approved parts of a management plan for the popular Illinois River.

At Tuesday's lengthy meeting, which attracted an overflow crowd, commissioners approved nine of the 13 management-plan strategies that were on the agenda. The Illinois River Management plan, which contains 67 strategies designed to protect the Illinois and its tributaries, was developed over a five-year period and involved input from state and local agencies and dozens of individuals.

Elements included developing streambank stabilization plans and protecting scenic Oklahoma 10 along the river to supporting the state Attorney General's Office in its objection to a local gravel operation's plans to mine Barren Fork Creek. The Illinois River is a popular recreation destination near Tahlequah.

The meeting also included commission administrator Ed Fite's withdrawal of his resignation from the watchdog board. Fite previously had threatened to quit partially out of frustration over a yearlong lack of movement on the management plan. "I believe it's time to put our differences aside and work together," Fite told the commissioners.

More than a year after the general plan was approved by a slim margin, Fite had put the 13 individual strategies on the agenda for last month's meeting. He also tied the fate of those items to his decision about whether to stay with the commission.

All of the items were tabled after the similarly crowded and hotly debated January meeting. It looked as though the meeting would again be contentious when commissioner Mark Hayes challenged Commission Chairman Jim Bradford, of Grove, about his perception of events within the commission.

Hayes said that after the city of Watts was fined for an illegal discharge near the Illinois River, Bradford had said the commission should not be a watchdog organization. "We never discussed a vote on that," Bradford argued. "Yes, we did," Hayes replied.

The visibly angry Bradford then said the commission should get back to its vote, or "I'll fight with you all I want." Afterward, six commissioners voted against the first management plan measure. Just as visitors began voicing their opinions that the whole meeting would continue in the discord that had characterized previous gatherings, the 12-member commission unanimously approved the next management plan strategy, calling for cooperation with other agencies on stream bank stabilization projects. The vote was followed by loud and sustained applause from the audience.