Page 4 - July/August 2022 Outdoor Oklahoma

OFF THE BEATEN PATH

NOTES ON WILDLIFE • OUTDOOR TIPS • READERS’ LETTERS • ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS

COMPILED BY DON P . BROWN

WILDLIFE COMMISSION WELCOMES MARK MABREY OF OKMULGEE

Okmulgee banker Mark H. Mabrey, 39, begins Mabrey earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing
serving an eight-year term July 2, 2022, rep- from Oklahoma State University in 2006, and is a
resenting District 2 on the Oklahoma Wildlife graduate of consumer lending, commercial lend-
Conservation Commission, the eight-member ing and intermediate school of banking through
board that oversees the Oklahoma Department the Oklahoma Bankers Association. He is a 2018
of Wildlife Conservation. graduate of The Pacific Coast Banking School at the
Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Mabrey in May to University of Washington.
succeed Commissioner Bruce Mabrey of Okmulgee, He is a past-chairman and current board mem-
his father, whose service ended July 1, 2022, after ber for the Okmulgee County Family YMCA, the
20 years as a Wildlife Conservation Commissioner. Friends of Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge,
Mark Mabrey Mabrey is SVP Market President Okmulgee at and the Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce. He is
Mabrey Bank in Okmulgee. He also serves on the or has been a board member for the Okmulgee
board of directors for Mabrey Bank in Bixby. Education Foundation, Okmulgee Main Street,
Mabrey is an active hunter and angler, having Okmulgee Chamber of Commerce and the YMCA
harvested his first wild turkey at age 8 and fished of Greater Tulsa.
“for as long as I can remember.” Mabrey is a past-chairman of the Okmulgee
“I’m just really looking forward to doing what’s County United Way annual campaign and believes
best for the sportsmen of Oklahoma. I’ve been community bankers must be active in the places
really fortunate for the last 20 years … watching they serve. He is a past chairman for the Oklahoma
my dad and having many discussions with him over State University Institute of Technology PROUD
different areas of wildlife conservation.” fundraising campaign.
Mabrey said he’s aware that many sportsmen and He was born in Tulsa in 1983 and grew up in
sportswomen lack opportunities or rely exclusively Okmulgee where he currently makes his home. Mark
on public lands. “I think it’s very important to con- and his wife, Krysten, have two children: Lakelyn, 7,
tinue as much public access as possible,” he said. and Baker, 3.

WILDLIFE EXPO’S RETURN PLANNED FOR 2023

This year’s Wildlife Expo has been canceled. The decision comes in part because the Oklahoma Department
of Wildlife Conservation will be dedicating staff and resources as the host of a national wildlife conference in July.
It is the third consecutive year that ODWC has not held a Wildlife Expo, as the 2020 and 2021 events were
skipped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As much as I hate missing Expo three years in a row, we ultimately believe that we can come back in 2023 and
have the best Expo ever. The break will give us an opportunity to make some improvements and knock it out of
the park next year,” said J.D. Strong, Director of the Wildlife Department.
From July 10-15, Oklahoma City will be the site for the annual Summer Meeting of the Western Association of
Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA). This will be the 100th anniversary of that organization, and various special
activities will be included during the meeting.
WAFWA’s membership includes 24 states and Canadian provinces that encompass an area of nearly 3.7 million
square miles of some of North America’s most wild and scenic country, inhabited by more than 1,500 wildlife spe-
cies. WAFWA’s mission is to advance collaborative, proactive, science-based fish and wildlife conservation and
management across the West.

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