Page 5 - 2018 NOV/DEC Outdoor Oklahoma

Off the Beaten Path

Off the Beaten Path

Not es oN Wildlife • ou t door ti ps • r ea ders’ let t ers • eN v i roN meN ta l NeWs
C om piled by doN p. broW N

OSAGE COUNTY COUPLE SELECTED 2018 LANDOWNERS OF THE YEAR

For nearly 20 years, Fred and Randi Wightman have been trans-
forming their Harrier Hills ranch in Osage County to improve wildlife
populations and habitat. And those efforts have led the Wightmans to DON P. BROWN/ODWC
be recognized as the 2018 Landowner Conservationists of the Year by
the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
When the couple bought the 1,750 acres in 1999, the habitat was
in poor condition. They promptly decided to rest the rangeland,
which had an immediate effect on habitat improvement. The land
responded, and now the Wightmans conduct light to moderate
grazing on part of the property and annually cut about 50 acres
of native grass hay.
Each year, they make the labor-intensive effort to spot-spray
the invasive sericea plants that have a negative impact on the
landscape. And they have installed cross fencing to better manage
grazing activity.
The Wightmans conduct other habitat enhancement activities
including thinning timber to reduce canopy coverage, planting
numerous small food plots for wildlife, and maintaining about 60
bluebird nest boxes across the property.
The landowners have also made considerable effort to enhance
the water resources on the ranch. They worked with the Natural
Resource Conservation Service to renovate six ponds, to build
three small ponds, and to create two small lakes totaling 18 sur-
face acres.
In 2001, the Wightmans signed up as a cooperator in the Wildlife
Department’s Deer Management Assistance Program, or DMAP.
Their goal was to improve the health of the ranch’s deer herd by
getting the buck-to-doe ratio into balance and increasing overall
herd size.
They are among the most dedicated DMAP cooperators
in the program, having conducted about 170 standardized Fred and Randi Wightman, owners of Harrier Hills ranch in Osage
spotlight counts and doing whatever is necessary to properly County, are the Wildlife Department’s 2018 Landowner Conservationists
manage the herd. of the Year.

PARTICIPATION IN FISHING UP FOR SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR

Participation in fishing increased for the second year in a row Some highlights from the reports include:
in 2017, according to recent reports from the Outdoor Founda- • Fishing participation rose 4 percent to 49.1 million partic-
tion’s Outdoor Recreation Participation Report and the U.S. ipants in 2017.
Fish & Wildlife Service’s Historical Fishing License Sales Data. • Fishing license sales increased 1.3 percent in 2017.
Of particular interest is the increase in the number of people • Participation in fishing among youths (ages 6-17) increased
who had their first fishing experience during 2017, as compared 5.4 percent, to a total of 11.6 million.
to the same number in 2016. First-time anglers totaled 3 million, • Participation among women increased 3.1 percent, to a
an increase of a whopping 21 percent over the previous year. total of 17.1 million.

2 Off the Beaten Path