About Us
"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.
Washita National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1961 under the Fish & Wildlife Coordination Act primarily to provide a resting and feeding area for migrating and wintering waterfowl. Located in west-central Oklahoma, the refuge’s mixed-grass plains surround the upper reaches of Foss Reservoir.
Wintering waterfowl feed on wheat and milo grown specifically for them. They eat the green wheat first, then switch to the more nutritious milo when temperatures fall. About 2,000 acres of cropland cover the flat terrain. Local farmers cultivate these fields, keeping part of the harvest and leaving the remainder for wildlife. The refuge also floods some fields, creating shallow-water habitats that provide roosting and feeding areas for various waterfowl and wading birds.
This area of western Oklahoma produces a considerable amount of oil and gas. Custer County is located on top of the Anadarko Basin, one of the largest known reserves of natural gas. There are four active wells on the refuge.
Our Mission
The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and, where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Our Purpose
Every national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.
Learn more about national wildlife refuge was created for a special purpose. Some were created to protect migratory birds, others to protect threatened or endangered species or unique habitats, while others fulfill another special purpose. Refuges are special places where wildlife comes first. All activities allowed on refuges must be evaluated to make sure each activity will not conflict with the reason the refuge was founded.
The purpose of Washita National Wildlife Refuge is to serve as a resting and feeding ground for migrating and wintering waterfowl.
Our History
February 25, 1956 - President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill authorizing the Bureau of Reclamation’s Washita Basin Project which included the construction of Foss Reservoir.
April 15, 1961 - The Washita National Wildlife Refuge was established under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act primarily to provide a resting and feeding area for migrating and wintering waterfowl.
Other Facilities in this Complex
Optima National Wildlife Refuge is unstaffed and managed through Washita National Wildlife Refuge office.
