Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program is Key Player in Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation

By Oklahoma Dept of Wildlife Conservation

First posted on 05-11-2010

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program has worked in cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation for nearly two decades to restore wildlife habitat in Oklahoma, contributing over $700,000 since 2000 alone.

At its May meeting, the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission heard a presentation from Jontie Aldrich, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Oklahoma Partners program coordinator, on the projects and progress of the Partners program in the state.

As a voluntary program designed to help private landowners restore fish and wildlife habitat on their property, the Partners program coordinates primarily with landowners and the Wildlife Department to accomplish a range of conservation goals and outreach efforts.

“In Oklahoma we have great diversity, and we have a lot of private ownership — 94-97 percent is privately owned — so obviously that’s where the majority of the wildlife resource is located and that’s why it’s a very effective program in this state,” Aldrich said.

Projects undertaken through the program had included wetland and prairie restoration, bird nesting habitat improvement, bat habitat conservation, controlling invasive plants, and more, leading to the restoration of more than 295,000 acres statewide.

Additionally, projects have also included about 125 outdoor classrooms at schools across the state to promote and increase involvement and exposure of youth to the outdoors, nature and conservation. Along similar lines, the Partners program also supports the Wildlife Department’s Oklahoma Archery in the Schools Program, which introduces archery curriculum to school students across the state through classroom shooting activities and annual state shoots at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City. At the 2010 state shoot over 1,600 students from 129 of the 225 schools involved in the program participated in competitive archery events, qualifying many of those students and schools for the National Archery in the Schools national shoot in Louisville, Ky.

The program also partners with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to release an annual wildlife habitat management calendar for landowners.

In other business, the Commission heard a presentation from Joe Hemphill, southeast region wildlife supervisor for the Wildlife Department, on the status of the Eastern wild turkey in southeast Oklahoma.

According to Hemphill, turkey numbers are down noticeably in southeast Oklahoma.

Research shows populations estimates in 2005 to be around 35,000 birds, but last year estimates had declined to around 19,000 — a 46 percent decline over four years.

“Very untimely weather patterns in reproductive months influenced declining turkey populations,” Hemphill said. “It’s not just in southeast Oklahoma. It’s Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Missouri.”

Hemphill said extreme drought from 2004-06 followed by extreme moisture in the following years through 2009 affected turkey reproduction. The decline is shown in hen to poult ratios and other survey methods used to track turkey numbers.

A quorum was not present at the meeting, and the Commission did not vote on any of the action items on the agenda.

The Commission also recognized wildlife technicians Robert Guinn and Ian Campbell, both for 25 years of service the Wildlife Department. Guinn works at Keystone and Skiatook WMAs, while Campbell works with landowners in northeast Oklahoma.

The Wildlife Conservation Commission is the eight-member governing board of the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The Wildlife Commission establishes state hunting and fishing regulations, sets policy for the Wildlife Department and indirectly oversees all state fish and wildlife conservation activities. Commission members are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.

The next scheduled Commission meeting is set for 9 a.m., June 6, at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation headquarters (auditorium), located at the southwest corner of 18th and North Lincoln, Oklahoma City.