At the site of Big Canyon, Dolese's first quarry, our environmental team has been at work for years developing a stream and wetland mitigation site to preserve and protect the region's wildlife for generations to come.
DOLESE'S FIRST QUARRY
More than a century ago, when Oklahoma was just a fledgling state on the Western Frontier, Dolese Bros. Co. purchased its first Oklahoma quarry.
Nestled in the Arbuckle Mountains Southeast of what would become Davis, the original Dolese brothers named it "Big Canyon", and over the following decades, it provided countless tons of stone, aggregate and concrete material to build our new state's infrastructure.
In 1993, after 83 years of operation, we closed the gates at Big Canyon. But the area is far from forgotten…
100 YEARS LATER
In July of 2009, our environmental team, headed by Tom Dupuis, met with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to plan a 458-acre stream and wetland mitigation area in a Dolese-owned parcel just north of the Big Canyon site. Shortly thereafter, work began to improve these 458 forgotten acres.
The project entailed repairing streams, creating a new pond and generally doing our best to turn the entire area into a comfortable new home for the birds, fish and other wildlife in this part of Oklahoma. We've planted more than 1,500 trees, restored the channel area of Sycamore Hollow and added J-Hooks to the creeks.
Now that the work is complete, our job is to monitor the wetlands, new trees, and pond and stream improvements we made to ensure that all goes according to plan. For the next five years, we'll keep keen Dolese eyes on the area to make sure that what we're giving back to nature is the best gift we can make it. After that, if the Army Corps of Engineers is satisfied, we'll continue to check in on this little piece of paradise each year, as it's reclaimed by nature.
"It's how we've done it for more than a hundred years. And how we intend to do it for a hundred more."
