TheThe OklahomaOklahoma WWetlandsetlands ReferenceReference GuideGuide Oklahoma Conservation Commission The Oklahoma Wetlands Reference Guide Oklahoma Conservation Commission Oklahoma City, Oklahoma James E. Henley USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Mark S. Harrison Oklahoma Conservation Commission i Oklahoma Conservation Commission 2800 North Lincoln Boulevard, Suite 160 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105-4201 http://www.okcc.state.ok.us Suggested citation: Oklahoma Conservation Commission. 2000. The Oklahoma Wetlands Reference Guide (James E. Henley and Mark S. Harrison, authors). Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. This publication, printed by Heritage Press of El Reno, Oklahoma, is issued by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission as authorized by Executive Director Mike Thralls, with funding through a grant from the U.S. Enviromental Protection Agency. Two thousand copies were prepared at a cost of $10.78 each. Copies have been deposited with the Publications Clearinghouse of the Oklahoma State Department of Libraries. All programs and services of the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and Oklahoma’s Conservation Districts are offered on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, national origin, religion, gender, marital status or physical disability. Copyright © 2001, Oklahoma Conservation Commission 2800 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 160, Oklahoma City, OK 73105 ii Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................ iv Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Closed Depression ............................................................................................ 9 Ames Closed Depression................................................................................. 10 Cimarron Terrace ............................................................................................ 14 Big Lake ........................................................................................................... 18 Forested Wetlands .......................................................................................... 19 Grassy Slough Hill Side Seep .......................................................................... 22 Little River National Wildlife Refuge .............................................................. 24 Red Slough WRP ............................................................................................ 28 Oxbow Lake .................................................................................................... 30 Okmulgee Wildlife Management Area ............................................................ 33 Red River Oxbow ............................................................................................ 34 Playa Lakes ..................................................................................................... 38 High Plains Playa ............................................................................................. 39 Arcadia Lake .................................................................................................... 42 Riparian Corridor .......................................................................................... 43 Beaver River Wildlife Management Area......................................................... 47 Cloud Creek .................................................................................................... 48 Fort Cobb State Park ....................................................................................... 53 Little Sahara .................................................................................................... 55 Okmulgee Wildlife Management Area ............................................................ 58 Swamp ............................................................................................................. 62 Grassy Slough WRP ........................................................................................ 63 Little River National Wildlife Refuge .............................................................. 66 Appendix Ecoregions ......................................................................................................... v Major Land Resource Areas .............................................................................xx Glossary ......................................................................................................... xxvi Fauna ........................................................................................................... xxxii Flora ........................................................................................................... xxxvii References ................................................................................................... xxxix Index .............................................................................................................. xlii iii Acknowledgments This Wetlands Reference Guide for the State of Oklahoma is published by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission and was made possible through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. An integral collaborator in this endeavor has been the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Oklahoma. Technical descriptions were written by James E. Henley, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and editing, design, layout and all photography was done by Mark S. Harrison, Oklahoma Conservation Commission. Matthew Mercer, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Wetlands Program coordinator, assisted with final gathering of data and resources and grant coordination. All maps for this publication were generated by the Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s Geographic Information Systems division. Other agencies and organizations who have contributed to this publication include the following: Office of the Secretary of Environment, State of Oklahoma Oklahoma Biodiversity Task Force Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension Service Oklahoma Water Resources Board Oklahoma’s Wetlands Working Group University of Oklahoma Biological Survey U.S. Army Corps of Engineers U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Special acknowledgment is deserved by the following individuals for their assistance in completion of this project: Bob Springer, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Shanon Haraughty, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Derek Johnson, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Wes Shockley, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Brooks Tramell, Oklahoma Conservation Commission Steve Tully, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Dwaine Gelnar, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Jennifer Lee Myers, Office of the Secretary of Environment Bruce Hoagland, Oklahoma Biological Survey and the University of Oklahoma And thanks to the staffs of Oklahoma’s local conservation districts and NRCS field offices for their assistance in accessing the wetland reference sites. iv Introduction he Oklahoma Wetlands Reference Guide has been developed to help a T variety of users in identifying and understanding the ecology of the most common natural wetland types found in Oklahoma. It is the authors’ intention that this book provides natural resource professionals, educators and private landowners with a guide that can be used to evaluate changes in similar wetland types, measured against a common standard. This guide is not intended for use as a wetland delineation manual nor is it a substitute for wetland determinations performed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. he term “wetland” is an umbrella term, and includes marshes, swamps, T bogs, playas and other areas that are wet enough to support hydrophytic vegetation. Wetlands represent a transitional zone between upland and deep water ecosystems, supporting rich biodiversity and providing unique habitat to many plants and animals (e.g., Odland, 1997; Barry et al., 1996; Bawa and Seidler, 1998). Therefore, wetlands are one of the most important ecological features on the landscape, providing benefits to humans and nature alike (e.g., Wakeley and Roberts, 1996; Killgore and Baker, 1996; Reedy et al., 1996). Wetlands often contain features common to upland and deep water ecosystems, and as a result may be difficult to recognize by the untrained eye. Wetlands exist in nearly every climatic zone and on every continent, except Antarctica (Mitsch and Gosselink, 1993). Estimates suggest that more than half of the wetlands nationwide have been lost since the mid-1800s, leaving approximately six percent of the Earth covered by wetlands today (Mitsch and Gosselink, 1993). In 1988 the U.S. Department of Interior determined that 87 percent of wetland conversion was due to agriculture, eight percent to urban development and another five percent for various reasons (Steiner et al., 1994). However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has attempted to reverse this trend. The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) restored 915,000 acres of wetlands nationwide between October 1996 and July 2000 (NRCS, 2001). There are a wide variety of wetland types found across the state of Oklahoma. The climate tends to get warmer and wetter as one moves across the state from northwest to southeast. As a result, the predominant wetland type changes from