Pushmataha Wildlife Management Area
Encyclopedia
Pushmataha Wildlife Management Area is a scientifically managed preserve of native flora
and fauna
in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
, five miles (8 km) south of Clayton, Oklahoma
. It is managed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
.
The Pushmataha WMA comprises 19237 acres (77.8 km²), over 29 square miles (75.1 km²), all of it in the Kiamichi Mountains
. Its predominant characteristics are a mixture of oak/pine forest with steep slopes, shallow soils and rocky terrain.
Scientific management of native habitats is pursued in earnest in the WMA, which is home to one of the longest-running multi-year research projects in southeastern Oklahoma. Spanning almost 30 years is a research project examining the response of vegetation to fire frequency. The project occupies 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) of the 19000 acres (76.9 km²) area, and is called the Pushmataha Forest Habitat Research Demonstration Area.
Burnings take place as well to improve the timber stand and produce native wildlife foods, another area of study.
herd had been overhunted and had dropped to less than 500 animals. The state wildlife department nurtured a herd of native deer in the WMA and began exporting it to other parts of Oklahoma. The effort was very successful, and controlled hunts were allowed in its territory by the 1960s.
Today the deer herd in the WMA is at a buck-to-deer ratio of 1:2.5.
Elk
has been reintroduced to the WMA, beginning in 1969. A total of 72 head of elk were captured at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and brought to the Pushmataha WMA. By 2000 the herd had prospered--today it numbers approximately 40 animals--but its genetic diversity
had suffered, causing an additional eight head of elk to be imported. Several had radio telemetry
collars attached, and have yielded surprising data: young bulls, as example, travel over 80 miles (128.7 km) per week.
, post oak
, red oak, black oak
, hickory
, elm
, blackgum, sweetgum, rusty blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum
), flowering dogwood
, and hawthorn (Crataegus
). There is also an abundance of high bush huckleberry
, low bush huckleberry, different types of sumac
, coralberry
, poison ivy
, Greenbrier
, blackberry
and others.
, eastern wild turkeys, cottontail rabbits, coyote
, bobcat
, opossum, skunk
, raccoon
, dove
, wood duck
, mallards, woodcock
, fox squirrel
, and game squirrel.
Nongame species include Bachman's Sparrow
, brown creeper
, owls
--particularly screech owls--and Eastern Wood Pewee
.
Approximately 52 inches (1,320.8 mm) of rain fall per year in the WMA.
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
in northern Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
Pushmataha County, Oklahoma
-Administrative History:* Ca. 1000-1500: Caddoan Mississippian civilization at Spiro Mounds* 1492-1718: Spain* 1718-1763: France* 1763-1800: Spain* 1800-1803: France* 1803–present: United States...
, five miles (8 km) south of Clayton, Oklahoma
Clayton, Oklahoma
Clayton is a town in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 719 at the 2000 census.- History :Clayton was formerly known as Dexter. A United States Post Office was established at Dexter, Indian Territory on March 31, 1894...
. It is managed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is an agency of the state of Oklahoma responsible for managing and protecting Oklahoma's wildlife population and their habitats. The Department is under the control of the Wildlife Conservation Commission, an 8-member board appointed by the Governor...
.
The Pushmataha WMA comprises 19237 acres (77.8 km²), over 29 square miles (75.1 km²), all of it in the Kiamichi Mountains
Kiamichi Mountains
The Kiamichi Mountains are a mountain range in southeastern Oklahoma. A subrange within the larger Ouachita Mountains that extend from Oklahoma to western Arkansas, the Kiamichi Mountains sit within Le Flore, Pushmataha, and McCurtain counties near the towns of Poteau and Albion...
. Its predominant characteristics are a mixture of oak/pine forest with steep slopes, shallow soils and rocky terrain.
Scientific management of native habitats is pursued in earnest in the WMA, which is home to one of the longest-running multi-year research projects in southeastern Oklahoma. Spanning almost 30 years is a research project examining the response of vegetation to fire frequency. The project occupies 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) of the 19000 acres (76.9 km²) area, and is called the Pushmataha Forest Habitat Research Demonstration Area.
Burnings take place as well to improve the timber stand and produce native wildlife foods, another area of study.
History
The WMA dates from 1947, when the State of Oklahoma purchased and established it as a deer preserve. At the time, the state's deerDeer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
herd had been overhunted and had dropped to less than 500 animals. The state wildlife department nurtured a herd of native deer in the WMA and began exporting it to other parts of Oklahoma. The effort was very successful, and controlled hunts were allowed in its territory by the 1960s.
Today the deer herd in the WMA is at a buck-to-deer ratio of 1:2.5.
Elk
Elk
The Elk is the large deer, also called Cervus canadensis or wapiti, of North America and eastern Asia.Elk may also refer to:Other antlered mammals:...
has been reintroduced to the WMA, beginning in 1969. A total of 72 head of elk were captured at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge and brought to the Pushmataha WMA. By 2000 the herd had prospered--today it numbers approximately 40 animals--but its genetic diversity
Genetic diversity
Genetic diversity, the level of biodiversity, refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary....
had suffered, causing an additional eight head of elk to be imported. Several had radio telemetry
Telemetry
Telemetry is a technology that allows measurements to be made at a distance, usually via radio wave transmission and reception of the information. The word is derived from Greek roots: tele = remote, and metron = measure...
collars attached, and have yielded surprising data: young bulls, as example, travel over 80 miles (128.7 km) per week.
Plants
Over 450 varieties of native plants have been cataloged in the WMA. Tree species include shortleaf pineShortleaf Pine
Pinus echinata is a species of pine native to the eastern United States from southern New York south to northern Florida, west to the extreme southeast of Kansas, and southwest to eastern Texas. The tree is variable in form, sometimes straight, sometimes crooked, with an irregular crown...
, post oak
Post oak
Quercus stellata is an oak in the white oak group. It is a small tree, typically 10–15 m tall and 30–60 cm trunk diameter, though occasional specimens reach 30 m tall and 140 cm diameter. It is native to the eastern United States, from Connecticut in the northeast, west to southern Iowa, southwest...
, red oak, black oak
Black oak
Quercus velutina, the eastern black oak or more commonly known as simply black oak, is an oak in the red oak group of oaks. It is native to eastern North America from southern Ontario south to northern Florida and southern Maine west to northeastern Texas...
, hickory
Hickory
Trees in the genus Carya are commonly known as hickory, derived from the Powhatan language of Virginia. The genus includes 17–19 species of deciduous trees with pinnately compound leaves and big nuts...
, elm
Elm
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the plant family Ulmaceae. The dozens of species are found in temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, ranging southward into Indonesia. Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests...
, blackgum, sweetgum, rusty blackhaw (Viburnum rufidulum
Viburnum rufidulum
Viburnum rufidulum, also known as the rusty blackhaw, blue haw, rusty nanny-berry, or southern black haw, is a flowering species of shrub or small tree that is common in parts of the Eastern and Central United States...
), flowering dogwood
Flowering Dogwood
Cornus florida is a species of dogwood native to eastern North America, from southern Maine west to southern Ontario, Illinois, and eastern Kansas, and south to northern Florida and eastern Texas, with a disjunct population in Nuevo León and Veracruz in eastern Mexico.-Classification:The flowering...
, and hawthorn (Crataegus
Crataegus
Crataegus , commonly called hawthorn or thornapple, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the rose family, Rosaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere in Europe, Asia and North America. The name hawthorn was originally applied to the species native to northern Europe,...
). There is also an abundance of high bush huckleberry
Huckleberry
Huckleberry is a common name used in North America for several species of plants in two closely related genera in the family Ericaceae:* Vaccinium* GaylussaciaHuckleberry may also refer to:-Plants:...
, low bush huckleberry, different types of sumac
Sumac
Sumac is any one of approximately 250 species of flowering plants in the genus Rhus and related genera, in the family Anacardiaceae. Sumacs grow in subtropical and temperate regions throughout the world, especially in Africa and North America....
, coralberry
Coralberry
Coralberry may refer to:* Aechmea fulgens* Ardisia crenata* Ilex verticillata* Symphoricarpos orbiculatus...
, poison ivy
Poison ivy
Toxicodendron radicans, better known as poison ivy , is a poisonous North American plant that is well known for its production of urushiol, a clear liquid compound found within the sap of the plant that causes an itching rash in most people who touch it...
, Greenbrier
Greenbrier
Greenbrier is the common name of the plant genus Smilax. It may also refer to:Places, United States*Greenbrier, Arkansas*Greenbrier, Orange County, Indiana*Greenbrier, Warrick County, Indiana*Greenbrier, Tennessee, in Robertson County...
, blackberry
Blackberry
The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by any of several species in the Rubus genus of the Rosaceae family. The fruit is not a true berry; botanically it is termed an aggregate fruit, composed of small drupelets. The plants typically have biennial canes and perennial roots. Blackberries and...
and others.
Animals
Among the game species found in the WMA are whitetail deer, bobwhite quailBobwhite Quail
The Northern Bobwhite, Virginia Quail or Bobwhite Quail is a ground-dwelling bird native to the United States, Mexico, and the Caribbean...
, eastern wild turkeys, cottontail rabbits, coyote
Coyote
The coyote , also known as the American jackal or the prairie wolf, is a species of canine found throughout North and Central America, ranging from Panama in the south, north through Mexico, the United States and Canada...
, bobcat
Bobcat
The bobcat is a North American mammal of the cat family Felidae, appearing during the Irvingtonian stage of around 1.8 million years ago . With twelve recognized subspecies, it ranges from southern Canada to northern Mexico, including most of the continental United States...
, opossum, skunk
Skunk
Skunks are mammals best known for their ability to secrete a liquid with a strong, foul odor. General appearance varies from species to species, from black-and-white to brown or cream colored. Skunks belong to the family Mephitidae and to the order Carnivora...
, raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
, dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
, wood duck
Wood Duck
The Wood Duck or Carolina Duck is a species of duck found in North America. It is one of the most colourful of North American waterfowl.-Description:...
, mallards, woodcock
Woodcock
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...
, fox squirrel
Fox Squirrel
The fox squirrel is the largest species of tree squirrel native to North America...
, and game squirrel.
Nongame species include Bachman's Sparrow
Bachman's Sparrow
Bachman's Sparrow, Peucaea aestivalis, is a small American sparrow that is endemic to the southeastern United States. This species was named in honor of Reverend John Bachman....
, brown creeper
Brown Creeper
-Description:Adults are brown on the upperparts with light spotting, resembling a piece of tree bark, with white underparts. They have a long thin bill with a slight downward curve and a long tail. The male creeper has a slightly larger bill than the female...
, owls
OWLS
OWLS is a mnemonic used by general aviation airplane pilots to assess an unprepared surface for a precautionary landing.Like all mnemonics this check has become part of aviation culture and folklore.OWLS:* Obstacles* Wind direction...
--particularly screech owls--and Eastern Wood Pewee
Eastern Wood Pewee
The Eastern Wood-pewee is a small tyrant flycatcher from North America. This bird and the Western Wood-pewee were formerly considered to be a single species...
.
Approximately 52 inches (1,320.8 mm) of rain fall per year in the WMA.