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Blue Thumb is funded through the EPA's Section 319 Program, which covers nonpoint source pollution. This is pollution that flows into our streams and rivers from stormwater runoff. Stormwater is not treated before it enters a stream, so everything we do on the land impacts our water quality. We are all part of the problem and we can all be part of the solution.
Blue Thumb is the education arm of the Water Quality Division of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, with the mission of stream protection through education.
To learn more about the OCC and everything they offer, please visit their website. |
Oklahoma’s Blue Thumb is a statewide citizen science program that trains volunteers to monitor creeks and streams and share their knowledge of water quality with others. The goal of Blue Thumb is to empower people to protect water in their region from nonpoint source pollution.
Over 75 Oklahoma streams are being monitored by Blue Thumb volunteers - citizens like you! The goal of Blue Thumb is to provide stream protection through education. We accomplish this by empowering citizens across the state to monitor a local stream and teaching them how to educate others about Oklahoma's water resources. The first step to becoming a Blue Thumb volunteer is to attend a volunteer training. We hold several throughout the year in different parts of the state, so there may be one happening near you soon. If you have a group of 10 or more people who are interested in becoming volunteers, let us know and we can schedule a special training in your area. Our children and our grandchildren deserve the chance to swim and fish in clean lakes and rivers, and you can help make that happen! 
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Who We Are
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A great deal of the Blue Thumb Program is about helping people understand their role in resource protection. Because we are water quality program, most of what we are about concerns actions that protect streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and groundwater. We accomplish our goals in two ways: education and monitoring.
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Our History |
Starting in Tulsa, OK in 1992, Blue Thumb started out as a collaboration between OSU Extension and Tulsa County Conservation District. It was modeled after the Master Gardner program. In 1993, it expanded to Oklahoma City, where it later expanded statewide and consolidated into Oklahoma Blue Thumb. It is now known as one of the premiere volunteer citizen science organizations in the country.
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