Arbuckle Simpson Nature Festival May 4-6, 2007

Blue River 5
Originally uploaded by gdsanders.

Arbuckle Simpson Nature Festival

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tishomingo, OK Paddle The Oklahoma Arbuckles

Exploring Pontotoc Ridge Preserve; Blue River
Ecology; Nocturnal Creatures; For the Birds and Fish
Production are events being offered during the
Arbuckle Simpson Nature Festival, May 4, 5 and 6 in
Johnston, Pontotoc and Murray Counties.

This is the opportunity of a life-time,
announced Dr. Bill Pennington and Earl Brewer,
coordinators of the event. The Nature Festival is
offering a variety of tours and a lecture that should
appeal to everyone. We have one of the best areas for
viewing nature in Oklahoma and this event will
spotlight a natural resource not seen by most people,
Brewer stated.

Registration is now open for the 2 day event
which will originate from Murray State College. Event
fee is $25.00 per tour. Registration and information
can be obtained by contacting the Johnston County
Chamber of Commerce, 580-371-2175 or by visiting web
site: www.johnstoncountyok.org. Registration will
begin each day at 7:00 a.m. at the Murray State
College Student Union. Advance registrations are
recommended, as size of tours is limited.

The Nature Festival was organized by a coalition
of TREES (Tishomingo Refuge Ecology and Educational
Society), Murray State College, Johnston County
Chamber of Commerce, Chickasaw Nation Enterprises, The
Nature Conservancy, Tishomingo National Wildlife
Refuge, Blue River Hunting and Fishing Area; City of
Tishomingo; Tishomingo National Fish Hatchery and
Chickasaw National Recreational Area.

Two topic tours are offered twice a day; once in
the morning 9:00 a.m. to 11 a.m. and afternoon
sessions, 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tours of 50 people
will travel by charter buses to the various locations.

Opening day, Friday, May 4, the first sessions
offered will be Exploring Pontotoc Ridge Preserve in
Pontotoc County and Blue River Ecology. Both tours
will leave Murray State College Student Union at 8:30
a.m., and travel to their respective sites.

Exploring Pontotoc Ridge Preserve offers five
different habitat community types: Crosstimbers
Forest, Bottomland Forest, Mixed-Grass Prairie;
Tallgrass Prairie and Limestone Outcrop and
Sinkholes, stated Earl Brewer, president of TREES
(Tishomingo Refuge Ecology and Educational Society).
A variety of species that might be seen include
Painted Buntings, Summer Tanager and Red-eyed Vireo;
Grass/Forbes, Hairy Grama, Little Bluestem, Purple
Coneflower; buttlerflies, and a variety of reptiles.
This is a guided trail hike led by Jim Herndon of the
Nature Conservancy . Hiking boots and binoculars are
recommended.

The Blue River Ecology tour will be held
northeast of Tishomingo led by Matt Gamble, fisheries
biologist. Participants will learn about the crystal
clear waters of the Blue River, formation process,
granite outcrops, fishing opportunities, need for
protection and the Seaside Alders. Hiking boots and
binoculars are also recommended for this tour.

A box lunch which includes a logo bag of the
Nature Festival will be available for a $10.00 fee.
Lunch will be from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on the MSC
campus.

The afternoon tours will leave MSC campus at 1:00
p.m.

Friday night will feature a special Nocturnal
Event at Pennington Creek Park, Corbin Ranch and the
Tishomingo Wildlife Management Unit. Dr. Doug Wood,
Dr. Tim Patton and Dr. Bryon Clark from Southeastern
Oklahoma State University will lead the group to learn
about bats, nightjars, frogs and frog calls.
Participants will leave the MSC Student Union at 7:30
p.m. and the event is limited to 20.

Friday night will also feature a dutch treat
buffet meal at the Western Inn Restaurant in
Tishomingo. Exhibits of area wildlife photography
will be on display for the public to enjoy.

On Saturday a full day of events will begin with
an Early Morning Birding/Migratory Banding Station
at the headquarters of the Tishomingo Refuge beginning
at 8:00 a.m. Dr. Doug Wood and Jona Reasor TNWR
Wildlife Biologist will lead this group.

For the Birds will be a group session led by
Kris Patton, TNWF manager starting at 9:00 a.m. Patton
will give instruction on how to enjoy the beatufy of
birdlife around your home; improve the habitat: in
your yard; how to attract birds by placing bird
feeders, seed types; homes for birds, using bird
baths, what to plant native versus non-native, winter
shelter, protection from predators and how to use a
field guides. Earl Brewer will assist Patton on
Refuge Backyard Habitat, which includes the Cumberland
Pool and Cravens Nature Trail. This session will be
held once in the morning and again in the afternoon
starting at 2:00 p.m.

Fish Production of the paddlefish, alligator
gar, alligator snapping turtles and more will be
featured at the Tishomingo Fish Hatchery at Reagan
during Saturday sessions starting at 9:00 a.m. and
again at 2:00 p.m.
Pennington Creek Stream Ecology will give
participants information about aquatic life, Dr. Bill
Pennington stressed. The ecology field trip will
begin at 10:00 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Hip waders or
wading clothes are recommended for this field trip.
Ellen Tejan and Andrea Navesky, acquatic ecologists
with the Nature Conservancy will lead the field trip.

Lunch at noon will be at Sipokni West Cattle
Trail Restaurant with a chuck wagon style BBQ meal and
fixins for $12.50 per person. This will be a real
treat for our visitors to the area, commented Janis
Stewart, Johnston County Chamber of Commerce Director.

The Nature Festival participants will leave the
Old West setting at 1:30 p.m. to travel for the final
two tours of the day.

Saturday evening a dinner and program entitled
The Birds of Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge
will feature Dr. Doug Wood, associate professor of
biological sciences at Southeastern Oklahoma State
University. Dr. Wood teaches a wide range of courses
including ornithology, field ornithology, zoology,
conservation of natural resources, principles of
biology, geographic information systems (GIS) and
bioethics. The dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a
welcome from Dr. Bill Pennington, President of Murray
State College and Earl Brewer, President of TREES.
The cost will be $15.00 per person. Seating for the
dinner and presentation is limited to 100 people and
will be held at Murray State College Student Union
Center.

Sunday will conclude the event with a self tour
of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area at Sulphur.
In the Nature Center Auditorium you will learn about
the Arbuckle Simpson Aquifer and how its life blood
flows through the springs of the historic Platt
District of the Chickasaw National Recreation Area.

Presentation at the Nature Center is from 8:30
a.m. to 10:00 a.m. and the field trip starts at 9:00
a.m. until 10:00 a.m. Hiking boots and binoculars are
recommended. Tour # 2 begins at9:30 a.m. until 11:00
a.m. and the field trip from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Visitors are encouraged to visit local eating
establishments in Sulphur.

For more information or to register for events
please contact the Johnston County Chamber of Commerce
at 580-371-2175.

Paddle The Oklahoma Arbuckles

Wine Country Murder Mystery in Stroud, Oklahoma

A TASTE FOR WINE & MURDER

Visit Stroud, Oklahoma this Spring and join the folks at StableRidge Winery in a Murder Mystery all about the wine country. Taste some great Made-in-Oklahoma wines and participate in the fun!

When: Saturday April 28th
Where: StableRidge Winery
Time: 4:30pm
Food: Heavy hors d'œuvres
Cost: $30.00 per person
Call for reservations: 1-800-359-3990

http://www.stableridgevineyards.com/

Pro Bull Rider's Rodeo in Ada May 4-5

The Professional Bull Riders are bucking into Ada May 4-5 for a weekend filled with rank bulls, high scores and big wrecks.

The Southern Oklahoma PBR Enterprise Classic begins each night at 8 at the Pontotoc County Agri-plex. The Southern Oklahoma event will showcase some of the most promising rising stars of the PBR, riding alongside fan favorites and veterans, as all competitors face-off against the most famous bucking bulls in the industry, including Versus, aka Stray Kitty, and Smooth Move.

For more information about Southern Oklahoma PBR Enterprise Classic contact Brenda Revels at (580) 235-0193 or email: brevels@cableone.net.

Oklahoma Wildlife Regulation Changes for 2007

Dripping Springs Trees
Originally uploaded by FreeWine.

The Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission passed a host of hunting and fishing regulation changes at its regular meeting Monday, most notably a number of significant deer hunting regulation changes aimed at improving the health of Oklahoma's deer herd while providing additional hunting opportunities for antlerless deer.

Specific deer hunting regulation changes were:

The statewide combined season limit on antlered deer was reduced from three to two bucks.

Youth under the age of 18 will have the opportunity to harvest a buck during the Youth Gun Season.

For most of the state (antlerless zones 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9), the number of days open to antlerless deer hunting was increased to include the entire muzzleloader season (Oct. 27 - Nov. 4) and the entire gun season (Nov. 17 - Dec. 2). Zone one, located in the Panhandle, will be open to antlerless deer hunting Nov. 17 and Dec. 2 (gun), while zone 10 in southeast Oklahoma will be open to antlerless deer hunting Oct. 27-29 and Nov. 2-4 (muzzleloader) and Nov. 17, 24 and Dec. 2 (gun).

Special antlerless seasons for most of the state (antlerless zones 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9) will be open Dec. 21-23 and Dec. 28-30. The Panhandle and portions of southeast Oklahoma are excluded. For a map of specific antlerless hunting zones, consult the current "Oklahoma Hunting Guide."

In antlerless deer harvest zone two, which includes much of northwest and north central Oklahoma, the antlerless deer bag limit for muzzleloader and gun seasons was increased to two antlerless deer. For a map of zone two, consult the current "Oklahoma Hunting Guide."

Officials with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation say the changes should help in managing the state's deer herd while at the same time providing benefits to hunters.

"We are confident that the changes approved by the Commission will help create a more favorable buck-to-doe ratio, improve the health of the herd and give hunters more chances to harvest does, and hopefully nicer bucks," said Alan Peoples, chief of wildlife for the Wildlife Department.

Fight Oklahoma HB 1515 and SB 709

North Canadian River Banks at Pierce, Oklahoma.
Originally uploaded by FreeWine.

Ask Your lawmakers to Vote NO

HB 1515 is coming up for vote in the Oklahoma House. This bill is brought by the hog factory farm industry and, if passed, is a real threat to Tenkiller Lake. It removes protective setbacks for outstanding resource waters like Tenkiller. This is classic special interest legislation making it easier to locate huge, confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) near our best streams and lakes.

HB 1515 also reduces setback limits for public drinking water sources, National Parks, historic sites, and museums.

We can't sit by and let this bill go unopposed. Please call or email your legislators today (list below).

Also ask that your lawmakers vote NO on SB 709 defining animal waste as nonhazardous. This bill is unnecessary and only hampers the state's lawsuit against the out of state poultry factory farm industry. It is special interest legislation.