A simple idea.

In 2001, when my family and I moved to Sawyer, Oklahoma, I was shocked at the lack of inclusion of our area in scientific activity and records, whether professional or amateur, despite our diverse ecological systems and abundant wildlife. As I've learned in the years since, the reasons for that are a complex mix of social, educational, and economic factors that need to be addressed if the true scope of Oklahoma's wildlife is to be uncovered.

To that end, what can one person do? I began with a simple project in mind: cataloging the flora and fauna found on our small 60-acre farm. We're uniquely situated in an area bordered by state park/conservation managed lands on the southeastern edge of Hugo Lake, a mile or so northeast of the Kiamichi River and less than ten miles northwest of its eventual destination: the Red River that divides Texas and Oklahoma. Our property contains two ponds: one five-acre and the other about a half-acre, at opposite ends of the farm.

We've run goats and cows on our land for about twelve out of the past eighteen years, using almost no chemicals except for the occasional spot treatment a few times. After a couple of tough years fighting hay drought, this past winter we dropped our cows and are now looking to convert to pollinator/bird/wildlife habitat. It's a project of no small effort. It will take a while, but in the first summer, I have been shocked to see how quickly the native plants have recovered.

It's my hope that I will be able to establish a practice that encourages other family farms to establish their own small spaces that will help to create pollinator/bird-friendly habitat.

הועלה ב-אוקטובר 16, 2019 11:35 אחה"צ על ידי annainok