Page 14 - Jan/Feb 2022 Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine
P. 14

COREY JAGER/ODWC                 Kaw Catfish Sampling
                                                  •  House Wildlife Committee Chairman Ty Burns joined ODWC Fisheries
                                                    staff for an electrofishing survey of catfish on Kaw Lake. This opportuni-
                                                    ty was part of a multiday effort to collect data on blue catfish by shock-
                                                    ing them to the surface for collection.


                                                Goose Banding and Research

                                                  •  Some legislators and staff helped with ODWC’s goose banding efforts
                                                    that take place during early summer.

                                                  •  “Please extend a thanks to James (Morel, Migratory Bird Biologist) and
                                                    everyone for having us today. It was a great experience. Nice to do some-
                                                    thing other than the policy and politics occasionally. The Speaker's leader-
                                                    ship team had a blast, too. I appreciate how patient they all were with how
                                                    clueless we can be. It's good for us to see what the agencies do." — Caitlin
                                                    Lee, legislative assistant to Reps. Dick Lowe and Kenton Patzkowsky.

                                                  •  “We had the opportunity to help with the banding of some Canadian
                State Rep. Ty Burns hoists a specimen   Geese at Fort Cobb State Park this week. We learned a lot and had a
                collected during a 2021 catfish survey.
                                                    great time. Thank you to the state Wildlife personnel for the invite!”
                                                    — Rep. Dick Lowe.

                                                  •  “As an Agriculture and Wildlife Committee member, it’s important to me
                                                    to work with our wildlife and the people who conserve it. It was a plea-
                                                    sure to lend a hand to Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
               COREY JAGER/ODWC                     (ODWC) in banding geese this morning in Purcell. Thank you to ODWC

                                                    for all that you do for our state and our valuable natural resources. Their
                                                    efforts provide valuable insight into the facts, data collection, and deci-
                                                    sion-making processes that drive wildlife management in our great state.
                                                    Banding helps ODWC understand demographics, harvest rates, move-
                                                    ment and distributions, and more. This information is used to influence
                                                    their regulatory strategies and helps protect Oklahoma wildlife. This, in
                                                    turn, provides abundant and quality opportunities for our hunters, fish-
                                                    ermen, and outdoor enthusiasts.” — Sen. Blake Stephens.


                                                Fisheries Management
                                                  •  ODWC hosted Sen. Darcy Jech at American Horse Lake in Blaine County,
                                                    part of Jech’s senatorial district. The lake is among 16 Wildlife Department-
                                                    owned lakes and is a destination on the Oklahoma Fishing Trail.


                                                Paddlefishing
                                                  Not everyone knows about this prehistoric species, let alone that they
                State Sen. Micheal Bergstrom Sr.
                experiences the thrill of snagging a   are a lot of fun to catch. In certain years, ODWC will invite legislators to tour
                paddlefish.
                                                the nationally known Paddlefish Research Center in Miami, Okla., to learn
                                                about Oklahoma’s tremendously successful paddlefish management pro-
                                                gram, and to try their luck snagging for one of these big fish.


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