Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge


	Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge
	12000 South Refuge Road Tishomingo, OK 73460 E-mail: Phone Number: 580-371-2402
	Visit the Refuge's Web Site: http://southwest.fws.gov/refuges/oklahoma/tishomingo

Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge
Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge lies at the upper Washita arm of Lake Texoma and is administered for the benefit of migratory waterfowl in the Central Flyway. Most of the refuge's 16,464 acres, including the 4,500-acre Cumberland Pool, were acquired in 1946. The refuge gets its name from a famous Chickasaw Indian Chief and is shared with a nearby century-old town.

The refuge offers a variety of aquatic habitats for wildlife. The murky water of Cumberland Pool provides abundant nutrients for innumerable microscopic plants and animals. Seasonally flooded flats and willow shallows lying at the Pool's edge also provide excellent wildlife habitat. Upland areas vary from grasslands to wild plum thickets to oak-hickory-elm woodlands. Crops, primarily wheat and corn, are grown on approximately 900 acres to provide forage and grain for waterfowl.

Getting There . . .
From downtown Tishomingo, follow Highway 78 to the eastern edge of town. Turn south on refuge road (watch for sign) at the high school. Follow road 3 miles to headquarters.

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Populations of up to 100,000 ducks and 45,000 geese feed, loaf, and roost at the refuge in fall and winter. Geese are primarily snows, but also include white-fronts and Canada geese. Mallards, pintails, and other dabblers are the most common ducks. Waterfowl numbers generally peak between mid-December and late January. During that time, 10 to 20 threatened bald eagles may be present.

During fall and spring migration, pelicans, grebes, ducks, herons, sandpipers, gulls, and numerous upland birds can be found at the refuge. Summer birds may include egrets, herons, and woodland birds. Over 250 bird species have been recorded in this area. White-tailed deer, cottontail, and fox squirrel are plentiful, and signs of numerous raccoon and beaver are abundant near sources of water. Skunk, opossum, and armadillo are other common mammals.

The host of microscopic organisms in Cumberland Pool waters support an amazingly large fish population, including several species popular with sportsmen -- crappie, sand bass, channel catfish, flat-headed catfish, and blue catfish.

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Once. farm fields extended far beyond the refuge wildlife plantings of today. The residents of Washita Farms, also known as chapman Farms, not only grew crops in the first half of the century here, but also raised hogs, and thousands of chickens and turkeys. The farm encompassed a community of 53 residences, a brick school, frame church, silos, and a store, the concrete remnants of which can be seen throughout the refuge.

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Farming has been a tradition at the refuge since 1848 when Methodist missionaries worked with the Chickasaw Nation to open a school to teach boys to write, as well as grow crops. Today, the refuge plants 700 to 900 acres of crops for wildlife to feed on.