{"id":28159,"date":"2025-05-21T00:00:11","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=28159"},"modified":"2025-05-21T00:27:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T00:27:17","slug":"what-helped-clean-up-oklahoma-waters-getting-cows-to-use-a-different-washroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/?p=28159","title":{"rendered":"What Helped Clean Up Oklahoma Waters? Getting Cows to Use a Different Washroom."},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-1lsv4am e6idgb70\">50 States, 50 Fixes<\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1vkm6nb ehdk2mb0\">\n<h1 id=\"link-7db66643\" class=\"css-vt1tsv e1h9rw200\" data-testid=\"headline\">What Helped Clean Up Oklahoma Waters? Getting Cows to Use a Different Washroom.<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-ms3zov\">\n<div class=\"css-14jae4t\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"UnstructuredBlock-1\">\n<div id=\"scrolly-instance-1\" class=\"css-72v2ez scrolly-container\">\n<div class=\"css-1dkdn05\">\n<div class=\"css-x860o7\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1395wvt scrolly-image-1\" alt=\"photo\" id=\"scrolly-image-1-3\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00cli-cows4-ktmg-mobileMasterAt3x-scaled.jpg\" data-credit \/><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1395wvt scrolly-image-2\" alt=\"photo\" id=\"scrolly-image-2-3\" src=\"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/00cli-okla-eaglenest-mzgk-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg\" data-credit \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"scrolly-credit-3\" class=\"css-jekged\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"scrolly-0\" data-credit class=\"css-1czjvi1 scrolly-text-3\">Oklahoma has been exemplary at cleaning up its streams. By some measures, more than any other state.<\/p>\n<p id=\"scrolly-1\" data-credit class=\"css-1czjvi1 scrolly-text-3\">A big part of the solution was simple: Give cows clean drinking water and keep them out of the streams.<\/p>\n<p id=\"scrolly-2\" data-credit class=\"css-1czjvi1 scrolly-text-3\">When one farmer tried it, he quickly saw results. His veterinarian bills went down and wildlife returned to the area.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn\" data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Grant Victor wasn\u2019t sure what to expect when he decided to fence his cattle off from Horse Creek, which wends through northeast Oklahoma, bisecting his family\u2019s pastures and cropland.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The original plot of land has been in his family since the 1890s, and they added to it over the years. But a century\u2019s worth of bovine traffic had left the creek\u2019s banks muddy and bare, and its waters thick with kicked-up sediment and animal waste.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In 2016, Mr. Victor resolved to change that. Working with a conservation program, he installed fencing around Horse Creek, creating a protective riparian buffer, even though it meant keeping his animals off 220 acres, about 6 percent of his family\u2019s land.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\" \/>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\"><strong class=\"css-8qgvsz ebyp5n10\">50 States, 50 Fixes<\/strong> is <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2025\/climate\/50-states-fixes.html\" title>a series about local solutions<\/a> to environmental problems. More to come this year.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"css-7ad88g e1mu4ftr0\" \/>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Today, Horse Creek is no longer on the state\u2019s list of most contaminated waterways. And, thanks to practices such as the ones enacted by Mr. Victor, about 100 Oklahoman streams once polluted by runoff predominantly from farmland have been restored to health. That\u2019s more than in any other state, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"InteractiveBlock-3\">\n<section data-testid=\"inline-interactive\" id=\"50-states\" data-id=\"100000009986802\" data-source-id=\"100000009986802\" class=\"interactive-content interactive-size-scoop css-kqcwdy\">\n<header id=\"interactive-header\" class=\"css-obecq5 interactive-header\">\n<h2 id=\"interactive-headline\" class=\"css-4hk76s interactive-headline\">Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"css-17ih8de interactive-body\" data-sourceid=\"100000009986802\" id=\"embed-id-100000009986802\">\n<div id=\"formpreview\" data-host=\"www.nytimes.com\" data-transloadit-id=\"a1ed58c066d211e5a6ee236a7c31b84b\" data-transloadit-signature=\"6d0f2cdf7ef5011a19f40f3a74b9ccb6b018cef4\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"InteractiveBlock-4\">\n<section data-testid=\"inline-interactive\" id=\"00CLI-top-ad\" data-id=\"100000010042751\" data-source-id=\"100000010042751\" class=\"interactive-content interactive-size-scoop css-1ewe15d\">\n<div class=\"css-17ih8de interactive-body\" data-sourceid=\"100000010042751\" id=\"embed-id-100000010042751\">\n<p>#top-wrapper, sponsor-wrapper {<br \/>\n     display: none;<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"Optimistic-5\">\n<div class=\"css-kbghgg\">\n<div class=\"css-121kum4\">\n<div class=\"css-171quhb\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"css-asuuk5\">\n<div class=\"css-7axq9l\" data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-noscript-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1dv1kvn\" id=\"optimistic-truncator-a11y\">\n<hr \/>\n<p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fclimate%2Foklahomas-cows-clean-waterways.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">log into<\/a>\u00a0your Times account, or\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fclimate%2Foklahomas-cows-clean-waterways.html\">subscribe<\/a>\u00a0for all of The Times.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-1g71tqy\">\n<div data-testid=\"optimistic-truncator-message\" class=\"css-6yo1no\">\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Thank you for your patience while we verify access.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Already a subscriber?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"log-in-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/myaccount.nytimes.com\/auth\/login?response_type=cookie&amp;client_id=vi&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fclimate%2Foklahomas-cows-clean-waterways.html&amp;asset=opttrunc\">Log in<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-3kpklk\">Want all of The Times?\u00a0<a data-testid=\"subscribe-link\" class=\"css-z5ryv4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/subscription?campaignId=89WYR&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2025%2F05%2F20%2Fclimate%2Foklahomas-cows-clean-waterways.html\">Subscribe<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>50 States, 50 FixesWhat Helped Clean Up Oklahoma Waters? Getting Cows to Use a Different Washroom.Oklahoma has been exemplary at cleaning up its streams. By some measures, more than any other state.A big part of the solution was simple: Give cows clean drinking water and keep them out of the streams.When one farmer tried it, he quickly saw results. His veterinarian bills went down and wildlife returned to the area.Grant Victor wasn\u2019t sure what to expect when he decided to fence his cattle off from Horse Creek, which wends through northeast Oklahoma, bisecting his family\u2019s pastures and cropland.The original plot of land has been in his family since the 1890s, and they added to it over the years. But a century\u2019s worth of bovine traffic had left the creek\u2019s banks muddy and bare, and its waters thick with kicked-up sediment and animal waste.In 2016, Mr. Victor resolved to change that. Working with a conservation program, he installed fencing around Horse Creek, creating a protective riparian buffer, even though it meant keeping his animals off 220 acres, about 6 percent of his family\u2019s land.50 States, 50 Fixes is a series about local solutions to environmental problems. More to come this year.Today, Horse Creek is no longer on the state\u2019s list of most contaminated waterways. And, thanks to practices such as the ones enacted by Mr. Victor, about 100 Oklahoman streams once polluted by runoff predominantly from farmland have been restored to health. That\u2019s more than in any other state, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.Tell Us About Solutions Where You Live<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28161,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28159"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28165,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28159\/revisions\/28165"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28161"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medexperts.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}