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Celebrate National Wildlife Week

STILLWATER, Okla.– As a wildlife ecology and management graduate student at Oklahoma State University, Brett Cooper knows how diverse wildlife is in Oklahoma.

“Most people who have never been to Oklahoma do not know how diverse Oklahoma is,” he said.

Cooper writes articles for a publication found on the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation Web site at http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/wildside, known as the WildSide e-Extra.  In the Web publication ODWC highlights wildlife related activities around the state monthly, providing information about everything from bird viewing to hiking or other outdoor possibilities for appreciating the wide variety of wildlife in Oklahoma.

This year’s celebration of National Wildlife Week from April 19 -27, marks the 70th anniversary of the National Wildlife Federation’s observation.

Oklahoma has 64 wildlife management areas owned or managed by ODWC.  Each area contains wildlife and habitat specific to a local eco-region.

“It is nice to keep this land set aside,” Cooper said.  Although he has not visited all of the state’s WMAs, he said the effort each site makes to manage for specific regional or state non-game wildlife is important to Oklahoma’s wildlife diversity.

For his graduate work in the department of natural resource ecology and management at OSU, Cooper conducts research about the relationship of sand plums, a food source and habitat cover for many bird species, and avian abundance in the Southern Great Plains. He conducts bird observations on three ranches in the state for his research.

The NREM department also has a Web site at http://nrem.okstate.edu/index.html with information about programs offered in wildlife ecology and management as well as a newsletter and access to NREM Cooperative Extension publications.

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Janet F. Reeder  BA, MS
Communications Specialist
Agricultural Communications Services
Oklahoma State University
142 Agriculture North
Stillwater, OK 74078
Phone: 405-744-3651
Fax: 405-744-5739
E-Mail: janet.reeder@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University, U.S. Department of Agriculture, State and Local Governments Cooperating:  The Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, or status as a veteran, and is an equal opportunity employer.