Henry R. Sansing was recently named manager of the Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) near Vian, Oklahoma and the Ozark Plateau NWR in the north-eastern part of the state. A 13-year U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) employee, Sansing will oversee the 20,800 acre Sequoyah and 3,000 acre Ozark Plateau refuges.
He was manager at Lake Woodruff NWR in central Florida before his appointment in Oklahoma. In his Service career, he has worked on refuges in South Carolina, Mississippi and Arkansas. Sansing who originally hails from Columbus, Mississippi, holds degrees in Forest Technology and Forest Management from Mississippi State University. He and his wife, Marion, will make their home near Vian.
"I have always had a passion for wildlife and the outdoors," said Sansing. "Sequoyah appealed to me because it offers those same great recreational opportunities for the community as well as providing vital habitat for migratory waterfowl and resident wildlife. The Ozark Plateau properties contain those special places where you have the opportunity to protect and recover endangered species."
Sequoyah NWR sits at the confluence of the Arkansas and Canadian Rivers. Thousands of birds migrate annually along the Central Flyway, which passes over this part of the country. The refuge
