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Program, led to the development of the Wildlife Department’s paddlefish
research and conservation program.
“And a planning-oriented grant was used to help start the Oaks and Prairies
Joint Venture. They now have a grassland enhancement program that will pay
landowners to implement prescribed burning and other practices to diver-
To read the Oklahoma sify grasslands.”
Comprehensive Wildlife The Wildlife Department has also used State Wildlife Grant funding to
Conservation Strategy, buy six parcels of land, totaling more than 18,000 acres. Two of the larger
scan this code: properties became Wildlife Management Areas, Cimarron Bluff and Cross
Timbers, while the other purchases added inholdings and adjacent lands
to the existing Beaver River, Cimarron Hills, and Cookson WMAs. Each property
is managed for wildlife, while also offering hunting or fishing opportunities.
“Land acquisitions have the potential to benefit a lot of species — in some
cases, entire communities — at one time,” Howery said. “And the Wildlife
Department makes these purchases in perpetuity, which can protect the land
Lands purchased through the State Wildlife from any kind of future conversion.
Grant Program, such as portions of Cimarron
Hills Wildlife Management Area seen here, “It comes with a lot of responsibility on our part and sets the platform for
provide habitat for dozens of species of future work.”
greatest conservation need, including the lesser
prairie-chicken, and black-tailed prairie dog. That future work will be driven by the same passion to conserve Oklahoma’s

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