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Washita
National Wildlife Refuge
20834 E. 940 Rd
Butler, OK   73625 - 5001
E-mail: washita@fws.gov
Phone Number: 580-664-2205
Visit the Refuge's Web Site:
http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/oklahoma/washita/index.htm
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  Overview
Washita National Wildlife Refuge
"They tumble out of the sky like maple leaves, side-slipping right and left to lose altitude, feet spraddled toward shouts of welcome below."

Aldo Leopold could easily have been describing the more than 80,000 geese that punctuate the quiet beauty of the 8,075-acre Washita National Wildlife Refuge each winter. Within the refuge, the slow-moving Washita River winds through prairie and farmlands to merge with Foss Reservoir, providing a home and resting area for geese and other waterfowl. Gently rolling hills, ravines, and bottomlands laced with creeks shelter wildlife as common as white-tailed deer and as unusual as the Texas horned lizard, a State endangered species.


Getting There . . .
The refuge rests on the northwest portion of Foss Reservoir between the towns of Butler and Hammon in Custer County Oklahoma. Headquarters and office are located 5 miles west of Butler on State Highway 33, then 1 mile north and one-half mile west.

Get Google map and directions to this refuge/WMD from a specified address:

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Wildlife and Habitat
November through February brackets the best times to see thousands of waterfowl. Snow geese lift from the waters in a blur of white wings. Canada geese are joined by smaller numbers of Ross and white-fronted geese. Mallards top the duck list, followed by common mergansers (January is their peak month) and pintails.

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History
Imagine watching bison herds cutting a swath through the prairie wildflowers you can see today on the refuge.

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    Recreation and Education Opportunities
Fishing
Hunting
Interpretation
Photography
Wildlife Observation
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Managment Activities

Canada geese spending winters at Washita NWR thrive on fields of wheat and milo grown especially for them. The hungry birds feed on green wheat first. When the temperatures drop, they shift to the richer milo. Some 2,000 acres of croplands stretch across the flatlands. Local farmers grow crops here, taking part of the harvest and leaving the rest for wildlife