A Naturalist's Guide to Oklahoma

From the Gulf Coastal Plain home to alligators and palmettos in the southeastern corner of the state to high plains and mesas dotted with ponderosa pine and big horn sheep in the panhandle, Oklahoma teems with biodiversity and surprisingly variable topography. More than 2,000 species of plants and 800 vertebrate animals, including 450 different birds, fill the state’s distinct ecoregions. In A Naturalist’s Guide to Oklahoma, the first comprehensive exploration of these ecoregions, professional biologist Priscilla Crawford celebrates the natural diversity found across the state and in residents’ own backyards. Crawford’s tour of the state’s natural riches explains why so many species of plants, animals, and bugs live here, and how to read the geological, climatological, and elevation transitions that make such diversity possible. With each chapter covering a different ecoregion, the book explores each area’s ecological, topographical, and geological features and the common and distinctive species found there. In addition, the author summarizes the ways in which humans have affected the landscape in each ecoregion for centuries. Finally, each chapter includes a list of the public lands in that ecoregion where readers can experience the nature described—and featured in more than 150 color photographs—firsthand. Throughout the book, Crawford invites readers to learn more about Oklahoma’s natural environments, including those closer to home. Chapters on reservoirs and urban areas offer readers insight into the biodiversity of built environments—from where best to find wildlife and what kinds might be seen, to the appeal of “wild edges” gardeners might have thought merely a sign of neglect. Throughout, Crawford offers specific, helpful suggestions for how to make suburban Oklahoma yards a refuge for native flora and fauna, and how to collect and share data on local wildlife with others. Long overdue, this lavishly illustrated, friendly guide is the book citizen-scientists and curious wanderers will want in their hands as they set out to explore the state’s abundant natural diversity.