Washita National Wildlife Refuge
Encyclopedia
Washita National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge
in Custer County, Oklahoma
. 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, ravine
s, and bottomlands laced with creeks shelter wildlife
as common as white-tailed deer
and as unusual as the Texas horned lizard
, a State endangered species
.
National Wildlife Refuge
National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...
in Custer County, Oklahoma
Custer County, Oklahoma
Custer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It was named in honor of General George Armstrong Custer. As of 2000, the population was 26,142. Its county seat is Arapaho.-Geography:...
. Within the refuge, the slow-moving Washita River
Washita River
The Washita River is a river in Texas and Oklahoma, United States. The river is long and terminates into Lake Texoma in Johnston County , Oklahoma and the Red River.-Geography:...
winds through prairie
Prairie
Prairies are considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the dominant vegetation type...
and farmlands to merge with Foss Reservoir, providing a home and resting area for geese and other waterfowl. Gently rolling hills, ravine
Ravine
A ravine is a landform narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streamcutting erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. A ravine is generally a fluvial slope landform of relatively steep sides, on the order of twenty to...
s, and bottomlands laced with creeks shelter wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
as common as white-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
and as unusual as the Texas horned lizard
Texas horned lizard
The Texas horned lizard is one of about 14 North American species of spikey-bodied reptiles called horned lizards. P. cornutum ranges from Colorado and Kansas to northern Mexico , and from southeastern Arizona to Texas. There are also isolated, introduced populations in the Carolinas, Georgia, and...
, a State endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.