Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office
Southwest Region

Welcome!

This is the web site of the Oklahoma Ecological Services Field Office. Use the links to the left or at the bottom to browse the sections of this and related sites. Below are some news and updates regarding the activities of this office.

General Conservation Plan for Pipelines and Well Field Development in Oklahoma and Texas

The public notice is located here

Public scoping meetings for the General Conservation Plan for American Burying Beetles for Pipelines and Well Field Development in Oklahoma and Texas will take place at the following dates/locations:
  • February 19, 2013 from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
    Oklahoma State University – Tulsa Campus
    Room 150 (North Hall)
    700 North Greenwood Ave.
    Tulsa, OK 74106
  • February 20, 2013 from 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
    Southeast Expo Center
    Room 101
    4500 W. Hwy 270
    McAlester, OK 74501
CORRECTION: the scoping process for the Environmental Impact Statement on the American Burying Beetle General Conservation Plan will not consider Garfield and Major Counties, but will consider Murray County along with the other counties mentioned in the Notice of Intent.

Gulf Coast Pipeline Project Habitat Conservation Plan

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and TransCanada Company are working together to develop a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for the American burying beetle (Nicrophorus americanus) on the Gulf Coast Pipeline Project. The timeline and relevant documents can be viewed in the table below; the documents are large, so please allow time for download.

Date Action
June 25 – July 20 Preparation of Environmental Assessment and Habitat Conservation Plan
July 20 – August 17 Service review of documents and publication in Federal Register
   Documents • U.S. Dept. of State Environmental Impact Statement (web site)
• Final Environmental Assessment
• Final Habitat Conservation Plan
• Appendix A: Construction, Mitigation, and Reclamation Plan
• Appendix B: KMCA Conservation Plan
• Appendix C: Funding Assurances
September 17 30 day comment period ends
September 17 - November 2 Service finalizes documents and issues a permit decision


Healthy Forests Reserve Program Helps Protect Habitat for Federally-listed Species in the Ozark Highlands of Northeastern Oklahoma

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working in cooperation with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and Oklahoma Forestry Services to implement the Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP) in northeastern Oklahoma. The HFRP is a Farm Bill program for private landowners. The purpose of the HFRP is to assist landowners, on a voluntary basis, in restoring, enhancing and protecting forestland resources on private lands through conservation easements, 30-year contracts and 10-year cost-share agreements. The program is being offered in five counties in northeastern Oklahoma: Adair, Cherokee, Delaware, Sequoyah, and Ottawa counties. The federally-listed species that are being targeted for habitat and population recovery activities include the gray bat, the Ozark big-eared bat, and the Ozark cavefish. The HFRP is administered by the NRCS. For more information about HFRP, please contact your local U.S. Department of Agriculture - NRCS Service Center. Additional information also is available here.

Image of the mouth of a cave and the surrounding landscape
Bison grazing at the Wichita Mountains NWR
Last updated: February 11, 2013
All images by FWS unless otherwise noted.