Released July 7, 2008
STILLWATER, Okla. – When it comes to enhancing water quality, the nation’s eyes were on Oklahoma recently as Oklahoma State University’s Mike Smolen was honored by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers.
A faculty member in the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources since 1990, Smolen serves as water quality coordinator for the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service, one of the division’s two statewide agencies.
“Mike has an exemplary record of annual professional achievement, providing very real benefits year in and year out to Oklahoma, the region and the nation,” said Ron Elliott, head of DASNR’s department of biosystems and agricultural engineering.
Ellliott said one of Smolen’s most noteworthy contributions in Oklahoma was his work addressing the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 Permit for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations in 1993, the first EPA CAFO permit in the nation.
“Mike was instrumental in the creation of a non-confrontational educational program that was a turning point for agricultural environmental programs in Oklahoma, and has helped to reduce adverse water quality effects of animal feeding operations,” he said.
To accomplish this, Smolen led an interagency work group comprised of the Natural Resources Conservation Service; Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service; Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality; Oklahoma Water Resources Board and Oklahoma Conservation Commission, among others.
“He coordinated an educational program that developed and used question-and-answer publications, satellite video conferences and public meetings that calmed producer fears and convinced almost every animal operator to apply for the permit,” Elliott said. “Mike and the interagency group showed the nation how to get buy-in from producers.”
Smolen and his colleagues with OSU Cooperative Extension and the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station system, the division’s other statewide agency, also provided the science-based educational impetus behind many of Oklahoma’s accomplishments in riparian management and in introducing water quality education to poultry producers.
“Oklahoma cattle producers were initially sensitive about restricting livestock access to streams; today, virtually all of the state’s producers are familiar with the term ‘riparian area’ and are receptive to best management practices designed to protect these valuable water resources,” said Bob Westerman, DASNR assistant vice president for program support. “Oklahoma producers recognize the need to be both economically viable and environmentally sound, and our scientists and Extension educators are showing them how to accomplish that.”
Both the riparian management and poultry education programs have been recognized repeatedly by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, as well as the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Smolen has generated more than $9 million in funding for Cooperative Extension and research programs in agricultural water quality while at OSU. He has been cited by his peers as being instrumental in the success of National and Regional Extension Water Resources programs during the past seven years. He was the first chair of the Extension National Water Quality Leadership Team.
“Use of Oklahoma’s water resources is vital to the quality of life for all state residents,” Westerman said. “Mike Smolen was a pioneer in water quality research and education when many agricultural engineers were focused on other aspects of soil and water engineering. State residents are fortunate to have a professional of his caliber working on their behalf.”
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Contact: Donald Stotts, 405-744-4079, donald.stotts@okstate.edu
