Green Country , sometimes referred to as Northeast Oklahoma , is the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Oklahoma , which lies west of the northern half of Arkansas , the southwestern corner the way of Missouri , and south of Kansas .
29-582: While the name's usage can be traced to the early part of the 20th century, it was popularized in the 1960s by the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation as one of six travel destination regions within the state. Said tourism designation is an 18-county region including Pawnee , Osage , Washington , Nowata , Craig , Ottawa , Delaware , Mayes , Rogers , Creek , Tulsa , Wagoner , Cherokee , Adair , Sequoyah , Muskogee , Okmulgee , and McIntosh counties. Another alternate usage of
58-590: A foreign trade zone , it is a major economic engine for the region with over 2.7 million tons of cargo shipped through the Port in 2013 alone. The notion of making Tulsa a port city on the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) evolved during the early 1960s, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was constructing the massive waterway. A delegation of 23 Tulsa business people travelled to Ohio to evaluate
87-527: A tourist destination . It is the Department which established regional designations for the various parts of the state which are in common use today: Red Carpet Country (Northwest, being the Panhandle and North Central), Green Country (Northeast), Frontier Country (Central), Choctaw Country (Southeast), Chickasaw Country (South Central), and Great Plains Country (Southwest). The department
116-579: Is also one of the most populous regions of Oklahoma, and is home to some of its largest cities. Northeastern Oklahoma has the state's second largest city, Tulsa. In addition to the area's foliage and rolling hills, it has more lakes than any other geographical area of Oklahoma, as well as more than half of the state's registered state parks. Oklahoma is one of only four states with more than 10 ecoregions, but six of its 11 ecoregions are located in northeastern Oklahoma. The heavily wooded Ozark Mountains and their foothills dominate most of northeast Oklahoma from
145-648: Is dominated by turnpikes. Toll roads account for the primary highways in and out of the city of Tulsa in almost every direction. The Will Rogers Turnpike serves the city to the northeast, the Turner Turnpike to the southwest, the Cimarron Turnpike to the west, The Muskogee Turnpike to the southeast, and the Cherokee Turnpike to the east. Interstate 44 is the primary thoroughfare and runs diagonally through Green Country, exiting on
174-522: Is the Tulsa Port of Catoosa. It is near the city of Catoosa in Rogers County , just inside the municipal fenceline of Tulsa , Oklahoma , United States. It encompasses an area of 2,500 acres (10 km ) and employs over 4,000 people at over 70 companies in its industrial park. The port ships manufactured goods and agricultural products from Oklahoma to the rest of the world. Designated
203-408: Is under the direction of the executive director, who is appointed by the governor. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission serves in an advisory board to the executive director and is made up of eight members of the public, along with the lieutenant governor of Oklahoma serving as the ninth member and chair of the commission. The Department of Tourism and Recreation was created in 1972 during
232-657: The BNSF Railroad and the South Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad . The port also provides rail switching services, known as the Port of Catoosa Industrial Railroad (PCIR), utilizing three dedicated Port-owned switch engines. The railroad's operation was turned over to OmniTRAX in August 2022. In 1971, the first full year of operation, the port handled 86,654 tons of cargo. In 2013 (the most recently reported full year), it handled over 2.7 million tons. In addition to
261-677: The Tulsa Port of Catoosa and Port of Muskogee are Oklahoma's only seaports, connecting the state directly with international trade routes. From either of these two ports, goods may be transported via the Arkansas River's connection to the Mississippi River . Intercity bus service is provided by Greyhound Lines and Jefferson Lines . Within the Tulsa metro, Tulsa Transit provides local service. The area's highway system
290-576: The Kansas line and Stroud , the southwesternmost town in the region. 36°30′N 95°30′W / 36.5°N 95.5°W / 36.5; -95.5 Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation The Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation is a department of the government of Oklahoma within the Tourism and Branding Cabinet. The Department is responsible for regulating Oklahoma's tourism industry and for promoting Oklahoma as
319-559: The Oklahoma State Parks System. The Oklahoma Film and Music Office promotes the film and music industry by actively recruiting film and music productions. The Travel Promotion Division markets Oklahoma through regional, national, and international advertisement and travel promotion programs such as Travel Information Centers, “Discover Oklahoma” television show, and “Oklahoma Today Magazine”, and Oklahoma’s tourism information site, “TravelOK.com.” In 2018, tourism
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#1732773061982348-710: The Sofidel plant with the Union Pacific main line. The project included funding from Sofidel and the United States Department of Transportation . The resulting Verdigris Southern Railroad opened in April of 2024. Further upgrades are planned. As of December, 2023, an additional $ 150 million in infrastructure improvements are to be made to roads, water, and other utilities over the next two years. On May 22, 2023, an Enel subsidiary announced
377-492: The department had paid Swadley's nearly $ 17 million for "financial losses, management fees and capital improvements." Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater called for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation to open a criminal investigation into Swadley's and for Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd to conduct a forensic audit. Tulsa Port of Catoosa Tulsa Ports consists of
406-561: The governor with the consent of the Oklahoma Senate . The lieutenant governor of Oklahoma serves ex officio as the ninth member and chair of the commission. As of 2020, the members of the commission are: Administered by the executive director, the Department began in 1931 when the Oklahoma Legislature appropriated funds for the land on which Lake Murray is located. In 1951, Lake Murray State Park also became
435-747: The immediate Tulsa vicinity south and eastward towards the Arkansas state line, containing both evergreen pine and deciduous forests. In its western counties, the far eastern extent of the Great Plains transition to woodlands through the Cross Timbers region. This area includes most of Oklahoma's portion of the Flint Hills , some of which is the protected by the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve near Pawhuska , one of
464-683: The impact of the effects of the Ohio River Valley navigation systems on regional business growth. They concluded that it would stimulate business in Oklahoma, and convinced other Tulsa business leaders to support the concept. The Metropolitan Tulsa Chamber of Commerce appointed Early Cass to chair a committee, thereafter known as the City of Tulsa–Rogers County Port Authority. The port received its first commercial shipment in January 1971, It
493-408: The largest grant in its history, being $ 22.3 million from the federal government, toward the $ 27.9 million cost of the Port of Inola Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plant lays the foundation for industrial facilities which could likely provide 10,000 future jobs. In December 2022 the Port announced a $ 15.76 million dollar rail project to rehabilitate existing track to connect the Port and
522-584: The last remnants of tallgrass prairie in the United States. Prairie terrain is most apparent in a strip of Green Country's northern section, which borders Kansas , running roughly from Bartlesville to Miami , where the landscape is a mix of true prairie and forest. A small portion of the Ouachita Mountains extend into the southern areas of northeast Oklahoma, though the Ozark highlands are
551-516: The many private terminals for grain, fertilizer, and break-bulk cargo located along the port channel, the port operates a 200-ton capacity overhead crane as well as a roll-on/roll-off dock. In 2016 the port added a new 720 foot dock accommodating a rail line and multiple cranes. In 2020 the Tulsa Port of Catoosa received a $ 1.1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration for railroad crossing repairs, freight rail infrastructure, and interchange improvements at
580-575: The multimodal shipping complex and industrial park. On Thursday 24 September 2020, the Tulsa Port of Catoosa rebranded to Tulsa Ports. The port has five public terminals that can transfer inbound and outbound bulk freight between barges, trucks and railroad cars. Tulsa Ports’ Inola facility, known as the Tulsa Port of Inola, is a 2,500 acre industrial park. It has rail access to the Union Pacific, as well as barge access to MKARNS. The first tenant, Sofidel , completed its manufacturing facility there in 2020. In September 2022, Tulsa Ports received
609-569: The ports of Catoosa and Inola near Tulsa , Oklahoma , United States, on the Verdigris River , a tributary of the Arkansas River and the Mississippi River . The ports are at and near the head of navigation for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS). They enable year-round, ice-free barge service with river flow levels controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . The Tulsa Ports' primary facility
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#1732773061982638-514: The primary range in the area. Northeast Oklahoma has a land area of 13,247 square miles (34,310 km), comprising 18 entire counties. The region comprises about 19.3 percent of Oklahoma's land area, and is larger than the state of Maryland . Based on commuting patterns, the adjacent micropolitan area of Bartlesville, is grouped together in the (CSA). The population of this wider region is 998,438—more than one-fourth of Oklahoma 's population—as of 2012. The 2010 census population of Green Country
667-606: The site for the first of seven state-owned lodges. Through the years, park, lodge, and tourism programs rested in the Planning and Resources Board, the Department of Commerce and Industry, and the Industrial Development and Park Department. In 1972, the legislature created the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department which is made up of four divisions. The Division of State Parks operates
696-449: The southwest and northeast corners. All portions of the road through northeastern Oklahoma exists as a toll road, except for in the city of Tulsa . Interstate 40 straddles the southernmost border of Green Country, while other highways include the north-south Highway 75 (not a turnpike), The Muskogee Turnpike, the north-south Highway 69, Highway 169, and the east-west Highway 412. In addition, Historic U.S. Route 66 runs (with breaks) between
725-543: The term can include solely the immediate vicinity of Green Country's principal city, Tulsa ; the Tulsa Metropolitan Area or the city of Tulsa proper is often referred to as "Green Country" in its own right. In this case, the terms "Tulsa Metropolitan Area" and "Green Country" are used interchangeably. Average precipitation totals in Green Country are generally above 40 inches per year. The area
754-474: The term of Governor David Hall . The Department of Tourism and Recreation is led by the executive director, who is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. The current executive director is Shelley Zumwalt, who was appointed on October 12, 2022. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Commission is an advisory commission to the executive director. Eight members of the commission are appointed by
783-491: Was 1,301,716 inhabitants, about 30 percent of whom were concentrated in the city of Tulsa . It includes the Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge , Ozark Plateau National Wildlife Refuge , Arkansas River , Canadian River , Grand River , Illinois River , and Verdigris River . The Tulsa International Airport is the primary commercial flight operation in Green Country. Also in the area,
812-523: Was Oklahoma’s third largest industry and contributed $ 9.6 billion to Oklahoma’s economy in direct visitor spending, $ 708 million dollars in state and local taxes, and supported 103,600 jobs throughout the state. On April 25, 2022, the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation cancelled its contract with Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen , a restaurant owned by Brent Swadley, after Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency found
841-532: Was officially opened for business on February 20, 1970, and was formally dedicated by President Richard M. Nixon on June 5, 1971. This port is the largest in Oklahoma. It is also one of the largest, farthest inland river ports in the United States. It is located 8 miles (13 km) from the Tulsa International Airport , and 15 miles (24 km) from downtown Tulsa. It is a fully equipped multi-modal transportation center served by both
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