This is the thirty-sixth diary in my Expanding the National Parks series. Prior Diaries are listed and linked below at the bottom of the diary. Last time i was in Ohio, this time, I’m in Oklahoma. Like with other Plains states, Oklahoma has very little protected land at the federal level. -3.6%, putting it 30th in the country in that measure, behind Georgia and ahead of Tennessee. Currently, Oklahoma, has 1 national forest, 9 wildlife refuges and 7 historic sites and other NPS units. I will propose giving Oklahoma its first monuments.
Oklahoma
Total Area 69 899 sq miles
Land Area 68 595 sq miles
Water Area 1 304 sq miles
Coastline — 0 miles
Additional Monuments-4
ADDITIONAL MONUMENTS-4
* Chickasaw Proposed area 10000 acres
Would upgrade the existing recreational area to monument status. Chickasaw was created in 1976 after a merger between the old Platt National Park and the old Arbuckle Recreational Area. Platt was designated a national park on June 29 1906 , three weeks after the Antiquities Act was signed into law by Teddy Roosevelt and the same day Mesa Verde was granted park status. at 640 acres Platt was the smallest national park in the system, but it was the only national park in Oklahoma. Visitation by the public took off, and by 1914 Platt was drawing more visitors than either Yellowstone or Yosemite. during the 1930s, the CCC built structures for the park- pavilions, buildings and enclosures for the hot springs, the recreational area contains some of the best preserved CCC structures in the country. Over 1 million people visit the area every year.
*Ouachita Mountains Estimated area 2 million acres (AR and OK)
- Establishes a monument overlapping the national forest, similar to the national park proposed in the 1920s, except much bigger. Would protect the Ouachita Mountains, well as the roughly 350000 acres of forest within Oklahoma, as a monument
* Fort Smith Proposed area 100 acres(In AR and OK)
Protects the ruins of two 19th century forts as well as the courthouse that served as the District Court for the Western District of Arkansas. it was a important stop on the Trial of Tears, and the district court handled cases in Arkansas and what was then Indian country (now Oklahoma).79 people were executed giving Judge Isaac Parker the title "Hanging Judge". Upgrading it to monument status would put the Trail of Tears front and center in the history of the Republic.
* Washita Battlefield Proposed Area 500 acres
Would expand and upgrade the existing historic site to monument status. the Battle of Washita also known as the Washita massacre, was a November 1868 battle between the US 7th Calvary, lead by George Custer, and the Cheyenne forces lead by Chef Black Kettle. the battle is considered a massacre because of the number of Natives killed (at least 50, as opposed to the 21 suffered by the 7th ) and the high number of noncombatant deaths(as many as 75). the site was listed as a landmark in 1965 and was granted historic site status in 1996. monument status would pay tribute to those who fell on both sides.
EXISTING AREAS
NATIONAL FORESTS-1
* Ouachita Established 1907 Covers 1,784, 457 aces ( in AR and OK)
The oldest national forest in the southern US, Ouachita was known as Arkansas National forest when it was established in 1907. it was renamed Ouachita in 1926. Ouachita is the French spelling of the Indian word ‘ Washita’ which means ‘ good hunting grounds. over 350000 acres, about a fifth of the forest, lies in Oklahoma. the forest contains 6 wilderness area covering 65000 acres, two of them lie within or partly within Oklahoma, covering nearly 15000 acres. the forest is split into 12 separate districts(three of them in OK), the most of any national forest. Tongass NF in Alaska has just 9, despite being almost 10 times Ouachitas size.
WILDLIFE REFUGES-9
* Deep Fork Established 1993 Covers 9000 acres
The youngest of Oklahoma’s nine refuges, Deep Fork protects habitat surrounding the Deep Fork Rivers. With an approved boundary of 18000 aces , the refuge is slowly growing as lands within the boundary are purchased. the refuge is bordered by two Wildlife Management Areas- Okmulgee to the north, and Eufaula to the south. the areas conserve more than 25000 areas in total.
* Little River Established 1987 Covers 15000 acres
Protects hardwood bottomland forests along the Little River, which is the vast majority of the remaining bottomland forests in that part of the state. the refuge is split into 5 districts of which four are contiguous. varieties of trees in the refuge include; cypress, walnut, sweetgum and willow and white oaks.
* Optima Established 1975 Covers 4333 acres
the second-smallest refuge in the state (only Ozark Plateau is smaller), the refuge was created as mitigation for the construction of Optima Lake Dam. the dam reduced the flow of the Beaver River to a trickle and lead to to a much smaller . the smaller lake led to increases in the area of both Optima WR and Optima WMA.
* Ozark Plateau Established 1986 Covers 4200 acres
Originally called the Oklahoma Bat Caves WR when it was established in 1986, the refuge conserves both forest and the underground caves that are habitats for the bats. the refuge is split into 9 sections and spread out over 4 counties. to protect the bats and their habitat, the refuge is closed to the public.
* Salt Plains Established 1930 Covers 32080 acres
the second-largest refuge in the state, Salt Plains was created by President Hoover in 1930, and covers over 30000 acres of land alongside the Great Salt Plains Lake, which was created after a dam was put on the Salt Fork of the Arkansas River in 1941, the water of the lake is very salty, about a quarter of the salinity of the ocean. given recent droughts, the water level of the lake is lowering, and it is likely that the dam will have to be opened to remedy the situation, which will convert the lake back into being part of the Salt Fork once more.
* Sequoyah Established 1970 Covers 20800 acres
set aside to honor Sequoyah, the Cherokee who developed a syllabary to allow Cherokee people to read and write in their native language, the refuge covers parts of three counties and is home to over 250 species of birds.
* Tishomingo Established 1946 Covers 16464 acres
Located near Lake Texahoma on the Oklahoma-Texas border, the refuge was created in 1946 and is managed by the FWS. the refuge is named after Chickasaw chief Tishomingo who died on the Trial of Tears in 1838 of smallpox.its is an important stop on the Central Flyway for migrating birds.
* Washita Established 1961 Covers 8075 acres
protecting portions of the Washita River, the refuge is home to 80000 geese during the winter months. and owing to the large reserves of natural gas under the refuge, Washita is one of the few conservation areas in the FWS Park Service or Forest Service to see active extraction.
* Wichita Mountains Established 1901 Covers 59020 axcres
the oldest and largest refuge in the state, Wichita mountains was the site of the first reintroduction of bison to the great Plains in 1907, when 15 bison were transferred to the refuge from the New York Zoological Park by the American Bison Society. bison had been wiped out in the region 30 years prior, at the time the number left in existence was maybe 1000, down from the millions that had existed before settlement by people from the East. Today the refuge is home to 650 bison, when the bison get too numerous, the excess bison are transferred to other sanctuaries. 37000 acres of the refuge are closed to protect the bison, elk, and other wildlife.
HISTORIC SITES AND OTHER NPS UNITS-7
* Black Kettle NG Established 1960 Covers 31286 acres (in OK and TX)
Named after the Indian leader killed in the battle of the Washita, Black Kettle lies mostly in Oklahoma ( of the grassland more than 31000 acres, less than 600 are in Texas). both Black Kettle and Rita Blanca Grasslands are managed by the Cibola NF in New Mexico.
* Chickasaw NRA Established 1902 covers 9899 acres
Originally established as Platt National Park, Chickasaw was created when the park and other lands in the Arbuckle Recreation Ara were combined in 1976, a district of the RA retains the name Platt and contains the former park.named after Connecticut Senator Orville Platt who introduced a bill conserving the area in 1902 as Sulphur Springs Reservation. the recreation became Oklahoma's submission to the National Park quarters collection, and was the 5th and last quarter released in 2011. Over 1.2 million people visited in 2011.
* Fort Smith NHS Established 1961 Covers 75 acres
Protecting two former military posts in the area, the site was declared a landmark in 1960 and a historic site in 1961. efforts are ongoing to buy land on the Oklahoma side of the border in order to maintain the area in its historic state. Over 86000 people visited in 2012.
* Oklahoma City NM Established 1997 Covers 3.3 acres
Located on the site of the former Alfred P Murrah Building, the memorial pays tribute to the 168 people killed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh( who was executed in 2001 for his crime). the structure includes part of the former building- such as the Survivors Wall and Murrah Plaza- as well as a tree that survived being hit by debris from the explosion and is now called the Survivor tree- the tree is estimated to be 200 years old. over 350000 people visit the memorial each year.
* Rita Blanca NG Established 1960 Covers 92989 acres (in OK and TX)
Located mostly in Texas, the grassland is split into numerous small sections and is surrounded by privately owned land , as is the case with many national forests. it is managed, like Black Kettle NG, by the Cibola NF in New Mexico.
* Washita Battlefield NHS Established 1996 Covers 315 acres
Set aside to conserve the site of the 1868 Battle of Washita, the area was declared a landmark in 1965 and granted HS status in 1996 . Over 14000 visited the site in 2004.
* Winding Stair Mountain NRA Established 1988 Covers 26445 acres
Located within Ouachita NF, Winding Stair Mountain was set aside by Congress in 1988. part of the Ouachita National Recreation Trail passes through the area, allowing for hikers to explore the region. the RA includes many campgrounds as well. as with all RAs, Winding Stair mountain is managed by the Forest Service.
This concludes my trip to Oklahoma. Next Time I’ll be in Oregon, visiting Crater Lake and checking out the Oregon coastline. As Always, comments and feedback are welcome. See you in the comments!
Prior Diaries
1.Alabama http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/02/1243412/--Expanding-National-Park-System-1-Alabama
2 Alaska http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/09/1245427/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-2-Alaska
3 Arizona http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/23/1247503/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-3-Arizona
4 Arkansas http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/10/30/1251319/-Expandng-the-National-Park-System-4-Arkansas 5 California http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/13/1253027/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-5-California 6 Colorado http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/11/20/1255469/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-6-Colorado 7 Connecticut http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/04/1259648/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-7-Connecticut
8 Delaware http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/11/1261227/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-8-Delaware 9 Florida http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/12/24/1263220/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-9-Florida
10 Georgia http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/01/14/1267376/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-10-Georgia 11 Hawaii http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/02/07/1272832/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-11-Hawaii 12 Idaho http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/09/1280257/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-12-Idaho
13 Illinois http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/13/1280256/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-13-Illinois 14 Indiana http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/19/1285004/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-14-Indiana 15 Iowa http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/27/1286741/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-15-Iowa
16 Kansas http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/31/1288153/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-16-Kansas 17 Kentucky http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/11/1289523/--Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-17-Kentucky
18 Louisiana http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/04/23/1293116/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-18-Louisiana
19 Maine http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/21/1294652/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-19-Maine
20 Maryland http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/20/1302283/-Expanding-the-National-Park-System-20-Maryland
21 Massachusetts http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/09/15/1323356/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-21-Massachusetts
22 Michigan http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/16/1330047/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-22-Michigan
23 Minnesota http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/16/1344656/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-23-Minnesota
24 Mississippi http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/26/1352277/--Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-24-Mississippi
25 Missouri http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/12/31/1354279/--Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-25-Missouri
26 Montana http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/25/1357306/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-26-Montana
27 Nebraska http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/28/1366819/-Expanding-The-National-Parks-27-Nebraska
28 Nevada http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/03/1367699/-Expanding-the-Narional-Parks-System-28-Nevada 29 New Hampshire http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/04/1368340/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-29-New-Hampshire
30 New Jersey http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/03/18/1368859/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-30-New-Jersey
31 New Mexico http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/07/17/1390348/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-31-New-Mexico
32 New York http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/08/1404728/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-32-New-York
33 North Carolina http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/08/20/1410688/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-33-North-Carolina
34 North Dakota http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/10/21/1436539/-Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-34-North-Dakota
35 Ohio http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/11/9/1447813/--Expanding-the-National-Parks-System-35-Ohio