Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
Lawton, Oklahoma
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge was created in 1901, which makes the 59,000-acre mixed-grass prairie in southwest Oklahoma the oldest wildlife refuge managed under the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In addition to preserving a remnant of threatened prairieland, the refuge helps protect endangered species that are native to the region.
The refuge manages a herd of about 650 bison and 250 Texas longhorn cattle, and there are about 1,000 white-tailed deer and 700 elk on the land as well, park ranger Quinton Smith said. Of course, the refuge isn’t a zoo, so the animals aren’t on display, he said, but it’s not uncommon for visitors to see all four of the “big grazers” in a single day.
“Very seldom would you ever come out here and not see [a bison],” Smith said.
The refuge is also home to hundreds of species of birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians, making it a prime wildlife-watching spot. Bald eagles and golden eagles are common in the winter months, and the prairie dog colony is a crowd favorite because “there’s always lots of activity there,” he said.
The refuge has more than 15 miles of hiking trails, and interpreters are available with advance notice to lead guided group hikes. Smith said the park might also be able to arrange for an interpreter to act as a step-on guide. Group camping sites, including one that is designated for youth and student groups, are available at the refuge.
Groups also like to stop at the viewing deck on the summit of Mount Scott to take in the panorama of prairie, lakes and granite cliffs; the Blue Canyon Wind Farm; and a portion of Fort Sill.
An interpreter must meet commercial coach groups at the Wichita Mountain Visitors Center and board the bus to give a 10- to 15-minute presentation about the refuge’s purpose and mission, Smith said.
www.fws.gov/refuge/Wichita_Mountains/
SayersBrook Bison Ranch
Potosi, Missouri
Although “bison” is in its name, there’s more to SayersBrook Bison Ranch than its bison herd, so much more that owner Skip Sayers says his ranch playground is “a Disneyworld of the Ozarks.”
The ranch covers six square miles just outside Potosi, Missouri, and is surrounded on three sides by the Mark Twain National Forest. In addition to more than 1,000 bison, the ranch is home to a milelong boating lake, 50 miles of off-road trails and two shooting ranges.
The ranch gets plenty of groups, said Sayers, who owns SayersBrook with his wife, Connie. The largest they’ve ever done was a lunch for 1,200 people. They can also host retreat groups of five people, although a “real good group is 100 to 350 people,” Sayers said.
SayersBrook’s signature tour is its bison tour, which starts with a brief lecture and Q-and-A session about the animals in the ranch’s 115-seat theater. Everyone then loads into covered wagons that tractors pull into the pasture.
Guides put range cubes, which are bison treats, around the wagons, “so the animals come up within inches,” Sayers said, and guests can feed the bison. The tour can also include lunch or dinner with bison burgers, brats, roasts and steaks, all served at the ranch’s lakeside pavilion.
SayersBrook also has two 15-person pontoon boats that take groups onto the lake, or up to 10 people can load into the ranch’s Hummer H1s for off-roading on any of the ranch’s 21 trails, Sayers said.
Sayers also has two shooting ranges on-site: a 16-station sporting clay range and a machine-gun range. SayersBrook provides all the guns and ammunition for groups of at least six people who want to try target shooting or trapshooting.
