Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, located northwest of Lawton, is celebrating its 100th anniversary of wildlife conservation on Saturday, June 4 with exhibits, tours and an open house at the Visitor Center from 11:00 to 5:30 p.m.
Lynn Greenwalt, former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a resident at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge during his youth, will kick off the celebration. The pictorial history documenting the last 100 years of the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge will be on exhibit. A Native American art exhibit and teepee will also be on display.
One of the best ways to experience the special landscapes at Wichita is to get outside. The public is invited to try one of nine hiking trails ranging from less than one mile to more than five miles, each offering scenic views. Maps are available at the Visitor Center.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the lands encompassing the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge to be reserved ?for the protection of game animals and birds and be recognized as a breeding place thereof.? The 59,000 acre Refuge hosts a rare piece of Oklahoma's past ? a remnant mixed grass prairie habitat where native wildlife still thrives today. The refuge is at a crossroads where species of plants and animals from the north, south, east and west intersect creating a diversity of habitats.
Direction to the Wildlife Refuge: Visitor Center at the junction of Hwy 115 and Hwy 49, From I-44 take Highway 49 (exit 45). Go west 14 miles to the Visitor Center. From Lawton, go west on Highway 62. Take Cache exit (Highway 115) north 5 miles to the Visitor Center. For more information, call 580-429-3222.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-http://southwest.fws.gov-
