2024 ARCHIVES|Scientific Excursions
Scientific Excursions were offered in the afternoon on Wednesday, April 3, and the full day on Friday, April 5.
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Buffalo Ranch
4/3/2024 | 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Capacity: 40
Fee: $65.00
This tour will include education about buffalo, the cultural landscapes, native grasses, water, & buffalo wallows (what is a buffalo wallow?). Visit close up with a buffalo herd managed by the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe; participants will be transported to the buffalo herd by gooseneck trailer and pickup seating on straw bales. Pictures and video of the buffalo will be allowed.
4/3/2024 | 1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
Capacity: 40
Fee: $65.00
This tour will include education about buffalo, the cultural landscapes, native grasses, water, & buffalo wallows (what is a buffalo wallow?). Visit close up with a buffalo herd managed by the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribe; participants will be transported to the buffalo herd by gooseneck trailer and pickup seating on straw bales. Pictures and video of the buffalo will be allowed.
National Weather Center Tour/ Tour of Scissortail Park
4/3/2024 | 1:20 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $75.00
This tour visits the McCasland Family Observation Deck, the NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, and the National Severe Storm Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma's National Weather Center. It is a great place to learn about severe storm forecasting! After the Weather Center tour, participants can join an optional perambulation around Scissortail Park: A 70-acre public space, first opened in September 2019, adjacent to the conference hotel.
4/3/2024 | 1:20 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $75.00
This tour visits the McCasland Family Observation Deck, the NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, and the National Severe Storm Laboratory at the University of Oklahoma's National Weather Center. It is a great place to learn about severe storm forecasting! After the Weather Center tour, participants can join an optional perambulation around Scissortail Park: A 70-acre public space, first opened in September 2019, adjacent to the conference hotel.
USDA Field Station - El Reno
4/3/2024 | 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 50
Fee: $55.00
The USDA Field Station in El Reno, OK has a cluster of eddy covariance systems in tallgrass prairies (different grazing and burning regimes, and different landscape positions) and winter-wheat-based cropping systems (different crop rotations) to measure field-scale measurements of CO2, H2O, and energy fluxes. Led by Research Ecologist Dr. Pradeep Wagle, this trip will include a field tour of a few eddy flux sites, some briefings, and Q/A. Yuting Zhou, our local host, will also talk a little bit about the integration of various spatial-temporal remote sensing products with eddy fluxes and the detection of hay harvests using remote sensing data.
4/3/2024 | 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM
Capacity: 50
Fee: $55.00
The USDA Field Station in El Reno, OK has a cluster of eddy covariance systems in tallgrass prairies (different grazing and burning regimes, and different landscape positions) and winter-wheat-based cropping systems (different crop rotations) to measure field-scale measurements of CO2, H2O, and energy fluxes. Led by Research Ecologist Dr. Pradeep Wagle, this trip will include a field tour of a few eddy flux sites, some briefings, and Q/A. Yuting Zhou, our local host, will also talk a little bit about the integration of various spatial-temporal remote sensing products with eddy fluxes and the detection of hay harvests using remote sensing data.
Friday, April 5, 2024
Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge
4/5/2024 | 6:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $125.00
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is a geologically unique and biologically important landscape feature ~130km SW of Oklahoma City. Its 59,020 acres boast numerous peaks of 525 million year old granite, rhyolite, and gabbro formations uplifted several thousand feet between 330 to 290 MYa. The area was first designated a game preserve in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt and shortly thereafter became the first location repopulated with bison from William Hornaday's Bronx Zoo population. Unbroken prairie valleys now host herds of hundreds of bison and elk, numerous colonies of Black-tailed Prairie Dog, and a legacy herd of free-ranging longhorn cattle left over from the post-Civil War Chisholm Trail. Rocky slopes with scattered oaks provide critical habitat for one of the largest populations of Black-capped Vireo, recently-established Zone-tailed Hawks, and many other Southern Great Plains bird species such as Painted Buntings and Greater Roadrunners. The field trip will include a ride to the top of Mt. Scott, one of the range's highest peaks, some moderate hiking along established trails, and a visit to Medicine Park, a formerly raucous den of outlaws and bootleggers turned architectural attraction and Indigenous craft market. Sturdy footwear, sun protection, and sheddable layers of clothing are all highly recommended.
4/5/2024 | 6:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Capacity: 30
Fee: $125.00
The Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge is a geologically unique and biologically important landscape feature ~130km SW of Oklahoma City. Its 59,020 acres boast numerous peaks of 525 million year old granite, rhyolite, and gabbro formations uplifted several thousand feet between 330 to 290 MYa. The area was first designated a game preserve in 1905 by President Theodore Roosevelt and shortly thereafter became the first location repopulated with bison from William Hornaday's Bronx Zoo population. Unbroken prairie valleys now host herds of hundreds of bison and elk, numerous colonies of Black-tailed Prairie Dog, and a legacy herd of free-ranging longhorn cattle left over from the post-Civil War Chisholm Trail. Rocky slopes with scattered oaks provide critical habitat for one of the largest populations of Black-capped Vireo, recently-established Zone-tailed Hawks, and many other Southern Great Plains bird species such as Painted Buntings and Greater Roadrunners. The field trip will include a ride to the top of Mt. Scott, one of the range's highest peaks, some moderate hiking along established trails, and a visit to Medicine Park, a formerly raucous den of outlaws and bootleggers turned architectural attraction and Indigenous craft market. Sturdy footwear, sun protection, and sheddable layers of clothing are all highly recommended.