Mesas to Marshes

Abstract

Native America—Native Rangelands” is the theme for the Society for Range Management 66th annual meeting. There could not be a more appropriate state to host the upcoming event han Oklahoma, true native America. Mile for mile, Okla- homa offers the nation’s most diverse terrain, containing over 10 ecoregions due to its diversity in soil, topography, and cli- mate. The various terrains span from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains to hardwood forests, cypress swamps to shortgrass prairie, oak savannas to pine-covered mountains. Much of what one can see in present Oklahoma is as it was before settlement by pioneers; a time when bison roamed across the state and the Native Americans followed. In fact, management techniques, such as prescribed re, are used to replicate Native American in uence. Many of these ecosystems have evolved with anthro- pogenic use of re, and the suppression of re in these habitats can signi cantly alter native ora and fauna. 

DOI: 10.2458/azu_rangelands_v34i6_gourley