Raymond Gary State Park Resource Management Plan Choctaw County, Oklahoma Lowell Caneday, Ph.D. 6/30/2015 Hung Ling (Stella) Liu, Ph.D. I-Chun (Nicky) Wu, Ph.D. Updated: July 2019 This page intentionally left blank. i Figure 0.1 – View across Lake Raymond Gary ii Acknowledgements The authors acknowledge the assistance of numerous individuals in the preparation of this Resource Management Plan. On behalf of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department’s Division of State Parks, staff members were extremely helpful in providing access to information and in sharing of their time. The essential staff providing assistance for the development of the RMP included John Parnell, manager of Raymond Gary State Park, and Johnny Moffitt, Associate Director of Little Dixie Action Agency, Inc. In addition, Gary Daniel, manager of Clayton Lake State Park, and Ron Reese, manager of Hugo Lake State Park, attended the initial meetings for Raymond Gary State Park and provided insight into management issues. Assistance was also provided by Kris Marek, Doug Hawthorne, Don Shafer and Ron McWhirter – all from the Oklahoma City office of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department. Merle Cox, Regional Manager of the Southeastern Region of Oklahoma State Parks also attended these meetings and assisted throughout the project. It is the purpose of the Resource Management Plan to be a living document to assist with decisions related to the resources within the park and the management of those resources. The authors’ desire is to assist decision-makers in providing high quality outdoor recreation experiences and resources for current visitors, while protecting the experiences and the resources for future generations. Lowell Caneday, Ph.D., Regents Professor Emeritus Department of Geography Oklahoma State University Stillwater, OK 74078 iii Abbreviations and Acronyms ADAAG ................................................. Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines CCC...................................................................................................... Civilian Conservation Corps CDC ...................................................................................................... Centers for Disease Control CFR ...................................................................................................... Code of Federal Regulations CLEET ........................................................ Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training CPSC ................................................................................... Consumer Product Safety Commission DOI ............................................................................................................... Department of Interior ESA ............................................................................................................ Endangered Species Act GIS ................................................................................................. geographic information systems GPS .......................................................................................................... global positioning system NAAQS ............................................................................. National Ambient Air Quality Standards NAWQA ................................................................... National Water Quality Assessment Program NEPA ........................................................................................ National Environmental Policy Act NHPA ......................................................................................... National Historic Preservation Act NPRM ........................................................................................... Notice of Proposed Rule Making OSU.................................................................................... Oklahoma State University – Stillwater OTRD .................................................................... Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department OWRB........................................................................................ Oklahoma Water Resources Board PBCR ............................................................................................. Primary body contact recreation pH ........................................................................................................... potential for hydrogen ions ppm ......................................................................................................................... parts per million RMP ...................................................................................................... Resource Management Plan ROS ............................................................................................. Recreation Opportunity Spectrum SHPO ......................................................................................... State Historic Preservation Officer USFWS .............................................................................. United States Fish and Wildlife Service USGS ............................................................................................ United States Geological Survey WBDO .............................................................................................. Waterborne Disease Outbreak WROS ............................................................................... Water Recreation Opportunity Spectrum iv Table of Contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Abbreviations and Acronyms ........................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................ v List of Tables ............................................................................................................................... viii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Mission Statement of the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department .................................. xi Vision Statement ............................................................................................................................ xi OTRD Values................................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1 – Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 Resource Management Plan: Purpose and Process ..................................................................... 1 Planning Process ..................................................................................................................... 1 Authorization and Agencies Involved .................................................................................... 2 Chapter 2 – Project Description ...................................................................................................... 4 About Raymond Gary State Park ................................................................................................ 4 Purpose and Significance of Raymond Gary State Park ......................................................... 4 Geographic Location of Raymond Gary State Park ............................................................... 7 Community and Regional Context ............................................................................................. 8 Brief History of Choctaw County ........................................................................................... 8 Demographic and Socioeconomic Conditions and Impact ................................................... 10 Competing and Complementary Recreational Opportunities ............................................... 14 Regional and Park History .................................................................................................... 15 Natural Resources in the Park ................................................................................................... 17 Climate and Air Quality ........................................................................................................ 17 Archeology of Raymond Gary State Park ............................................................................ 18 Topography ........................................................................................................................... 18 Geology ................................................................................................................................. 19 Soil ........................................................................................................................................ 19 Hydrology ............................................................................................................................. 22 Vegetative Cover .................................................................................................................. 27 Wildlife ................................................................................................................................. 27 v Accessibility .............................................................................................................................. 29 Chapter 3 –