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The Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States system of
national wildlife refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to ...
s. It is located in Alfalfa County in northern
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
, north of Jet (pop. 230), along
Great Salt Plains Lake Great Salt Plains Lake is a reservoir located within the Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma in the United States named because of the salt flats in the area and for the Salt Fork Arkansas River, which is dammed to for ...
, which is formed by a dam on the
Salt Fork of the Arkansas River The Salt Fork of the Arkansas River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 31, 2011 tributary of the Arkansas River in southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma in the U ...
. The refuge was established March 26, 1930, by executive order of
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...
, and contains of protected land as habitat to about 312 species of birds and 30 species of mammals. It was designated a
national natural landmark The National Natural Landmarks (NNL) Program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only national natural areas program that identifies and recognizes the best ...
in June 1983.


Refuge description

The Salt Plains were a favorite hunting ground for American Indians.
Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North A ...
and other game came to the area to eat the salt and the heavily wooded and well-watered area along the Salt Fork River was like an oasis in the surrounding grassland of the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, a ...
. Salt Plains refuge is divided into almost equal areas of nonvegetated salt flat, open water, and vegetated land.
Marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...
es, woods,
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses ( Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur na ...
s, and croplands dot the refuge. Management tools used to enhance the habitat for wildlife include farming, grazing, prescribed burns, construction of ponds, and wetland draining and flooding. The refuge was created to be a resting and breeding ground for migratory
waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which ...
especially during fall and spring. The entire refuge is designated as critical habitat for the
endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...
whooping crane The whooping crane (''Grus americana'') is the tallest North American bird, named for its whooping sound. It is an endangered crane species. Along with the sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis''), it is one of only two crane species native to ...
, which is mostly seen during fall migration. In addition, the refuge is home to endangered least terns,
threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depe ...
snowy plover The snowy plover (''Charadrius nivosus'') is a small wader in the plover bird family, typically about 5-7" in length. It breeds in the southern and western United States, the Caribbean, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Long considered to be a subspecie ...
s, threatened
bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche a ...
, and peregrine falcons. Large populations of
American white pelican The American white pelican (''Pelecanus erythrorhynchos'') is a large Aquatic animal, aquatic soaring bird from the order (biology), order Pelecaniformes. It breeds in interior North America, moving south and to the coasts, as far as Central Amer ...
s migrate through between August and September, staying on the Great Salt Plains Reservoir. Great Salt Plains is one of the most important habitats for shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere.


Ralstin Island

Ralstin Island (closed to the public) is an important rookery in the Great Salt Plains Lake. The island was originally , but has eroded to about .U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge." Retrieved April 20, 201

/ref> It hosts more than 30,000 birds during breeding season. Over 30 species nest in the colony (biology), colony, including the white-faced
ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word ...
, great blue herons, and most notably, the tricolored heron.


History of the Great Salt Plains


Osage Control of Great Salt Plains

According to Historian Louis F. Burns, the Osage Indians used the salt found in the Great Salt Plains to bleach deer-skins and the Great Salt Plains gave the Osages a surplus of salt to trade with other tribes. According to Burns, the Osage were firmly in control of the Great Salt Plains by 1760 and because of a favorable combination of geographical factors, the Osages became the dominant force in mid—America. "In a one hundred twenty-five year period, 1678-1803, the Osages performed a feat no other American Indians duplicated," writes Burns. "They stopped the west-ward expansion of the Euro-American peoples and simultaneously tripled the size of their own domain."


Sibley Expedition

George Champlin Sibley was appointed head trader at the Indian Factory at Fort Osage, Missouri, when it opened in 1808. While at Fort Osage, Sibley quickly engaged in creating relationships with the neighboring Osage tribes. In May 1811 Sibley's expedition left Fort Osage to examine the hunting grounds of the Osage. In 1811 his expedition was said to be the first white men said to visit the plains. Sibley's expedition, leaving from Fort Osage, Missouri was guided by an Osage Indian named Sans Orielle. Sibley named the area the Grand Saline. Sibley cut short his expedition when informed by reports that bands of Comanche were nearby. Sibley returned to Fort Osage on July 11, 1811 and reported that the salt deposits would eventually prove commercially profitable.Corps of Engineers. "History of Great Salt Plains Lake"
retrieved May 25, 2021
Oklahoma Historical Society. "GREAT SALT PLAINS"
retrieved May 25, 2021.
Oklahoma Historical Society. "Sibley Expeditions"
retrieved May 25, 2021.


Native American Usage

The Great Salt Plains have been the scene of many Indian Councils, both of war and peace. Because animals flocked to the area for the salt, the Great Salt Plains made for excellent hunting and it became obvious that any tribe that controlled the Salt Plains would have to contend with intrusions by other tribes. Therefor the Treaty of New Echota signed in 1835, provided the Cherokee Nation with ownership of the Cherokee Outlet but declared that the saline areas were to be accessible to use by other tribes. In drafting the treaty the United States Government withheld the Salt Plains area with the provision that, "The right is reserved to the United States to allow other tribes of red men to get salt on the Great Salt Plains in common with the Cherokee Tribe."


Chemical weapons discovery

In 2007, a Boy Scout digging for crystals uncovered a collection of 7.5-inch vials containing chemical agents such as
mustard gas Mustard gas or sulfur mustard is a chemical compound belonging to a family of cytotoxic and blister agents known as mustard agents. The name ''mustard gas'' is technically incorrect: the substance, when dispersed, is often not actually a gas, ...
,
lewisite Lewisite (L) (A-243) is an organoarsenic compound. It was once manufactured in the U.S., Japan, Germany and the Soviet Union for use as a chemical weapon, acting as a vesicant (blister agent) and lung irritant. Although the substance is colorless ...
, chloropicrin, and
phosgene Phosgene is the organic chemical compound with the formula COCl2. It is a toxic, colorless gas; in low concentrations, its musty odor resembles that of freshly cut hay or grass. Phosgene is a valued and important industrial building block, esp ...
.Fitzgerald, Scott,
Salt Plains beds yield 130-plus chemical vials
, ''Enid News & Eagle'', May 1, 2007
The vials were part of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
-era military chemical agent identification sets. The burial of vials was standard procedure for removing them from service at that time. No record of a disposal site was reported at the salt plains. Crystal digging was suspended from April 2007 until April 2009, while the risk of allowing digging again was evaluated; 171 vials and at least a dozen incendiary devices were removed from the location.Crystal dig to open Saturday
, ''Enid News & Eagle'', April 18, 2009
Fitzgerald, Scott,
Incendiary devices found near chemicals at Salt Plains dig area
, ''Enid News & Eagle'', May 4, 2007
The salt plains were also used as a
bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
and
strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...
range during World War II.Barron, Robert,
Officials speculate chemical at Salt Plains could be mustard gas
, ''Enid News & Eagle'', April 26, 2007
Remnants of this use are still left on the plains.Scout unearths chemical; Salt Plains crystal beds under guard, are off-limits to public
, ''Enid News & Eagle'', April 24, 2007


Recreation

Driving tour: The Harold F. Miller Auto Tour begins near the nature center. It is long and ends at Highway 11. The dirt road passes by ponds and fields where crops for wildlife are cultivated.
White-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...
and other wildlife are common. A trail of leads to Casey Marsh Tower, where waterfowl are abundant and bald eagles can be seen in fall and winter. Hiking: The Sandpiper Trail begins near the nature center and refuge office and leads to the edge of the salt flats and a birding observation platform. The Eagle Roost Nature Trail is a loop also beginning near the nature center. The trail goes through wooded and open areas, beneath towering cottonwood trees, past marshes and ponds, and to a shore and waterfowl watching area on Sand Creek Bay. Selenite crystals: A designated area of the of salt flats at the refuge has
gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywa ...
concentrations high enough to grow selenite, a
crystalline A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituents (such as atoms, molecules, or ions) are arranged in a highly ordered microscopic structure, forming a crystal lattice that extends in all directions. In addition, macros ...
form of gypsum. The selenite crystals found there have an hourglass-shaped sand inclusion that is not known to occur in selenite crystals found elsewhere in the world. Digging for crystals is allowed, but only from April 1 through October 15 to protect this vital Whooping Crane habitat. image:Salt Plains Digging Area hole.jpg , A hole dug in the Digging Area Image:Lotsofselenite.JPG, Many selenite crystals found in a single day image:gspnwrcrystal.jpg , Blade / penetration twins type of selenite crystal Hunting: About of the refuge north of Highway 11 are open for hunting. State laws apply, except deer may be hunted by permit only. Hunting is permitted for
pheasant Pheasants ( ) are birds of several genera within the family Phasianidae in the order Galliformes. Although they can be found all over the world in introduced (and captive) populations, the pheasant genera native range is restricted to Eurasia ...
, northern bobwhite quail, mourning dove,
duck Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...
s, geese, and
sandhill crane The sandhill crane (''Antigone canadensis'') is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on ...
s.Hunting at Salt Plains
/ref> Fishing: According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the extreme drought of 2011 and 2012 has almost ended fishing as a recreational activity at the refuge. These conditions caused very large fish kills in the reservoir and restocking has been suspended. Fishing downstream of the dam is still permitted, but is greatly affected by local precipitation and the flow of the Great Salt River.US Army Corps of Engineers:Great Salt Plains Recreation. "Great Salt Plains Lake."
Accessed April 20, 2015.
Information that follows indicate the practices in force prior to the 2011 drought, and may no longer apply: Fishing is permitted from April 1 to October 15 on most of the refuge. Closed areas are marked by buoys or signs. Fishing in Bonham Pond is permitted only for children under 14 and mobility-handicapped persons and is catch-and-release. Salt Plains Lake is noted for large channel and other catfish. Other game fish include
striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...
,
largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, ...
,
crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis' ...
,
white bass The white bass, silver bass, or sand bass (''Morone chrysops'') is a freshwater fish of the temperate bass family Moronidae. commonly around 12-15 inches long. The species' main color is silver-white to pale green. Its back is dark, with white s ...
, panfish, and
walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...
. State laws apply for bag limits and seasons, and the use of boats in the river and creeks is prohibited.Fishing at Salt Plains
/ref>


See also

*
Great Salt Plains State Park Great Salt Plains State Park is a Oklahoma state park located in Alfalfa County, Oklahoma. It is located north of Jet, Oklahoma on SH-38 and east of Cherokee.
*
Central Great Plains (ecoregion) The Central Great Plains are a semiarid prairie ecoregion of the central United States, part of North American Great Plains. The region runs from west-central Texas through west-central Oklahoma, central Kansas, and south-central Nebraska. It ...
* The Great Plains Ecoregion


References


External links


US Army Corps of Engineers:Great Salt Plains RecreationRefuge website


Informational videos

Official Great Salt Plains videos have been created and are hosted on YouTube. They are part of a short series, which includes:
Let's Go Crystal DiggingGreat Salt Plains National Wildlife RefugeLet's Explore a Birding ParadiseParks, Trails and Memorials of Alfalfa CountyByron State Fish HatcheryOklahoma Great Salt Plains State Park
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Oklahoma Protected areas of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma National Natural Landmarks in Oklahoma Nature centers in Oklahoma Wetlands of Oklahoma Landforms of Alfalfa County, Oklahoma Protected areas established in 1930 1930 establishments in Oklahoma