BioBlitz! 2012 Top 20
About BioBlitz! 2012
Important Registration Information
Directions to Base Camp
Schedule of Activities
What should I bring to BioBlitz!?
Participant Guidelines
Taxa Checklists
The BioBlitz! inventory will begin at 4:00 p.m. Friday October 5th and end at 4:00 p.m. Saturday October 6th – but the fun doesn’t end there! Plan to stay another night and enjoy the park after the biodiversity rush!
Just west of Clinton, OK, Foss Reservoir is one of the largest lakes in western Oklahoma, at 8,800 surface acres. Construction began in 1958 with the building of a 18,130 foot long earthen dam and the lake began to fill in 1961. The state park is 1,749 acres of recreation area that includes picnic areas, campgrounds, boat docks, and fishing piers. The Washita NWR lies on the upper end of Foss Reservoir and provides a feeding a resting area for migrating and wintering waterfowl and sandhill cranes. Established in 1961, the Washita NWR consists of 8,075 acres of gently rolling hills, deep ravines, water, and bottomlands laced with creeks. This variety of habitats is home to a diverse flora and fauna.
Access to most of these habitats is made easy by a series of trails in both the state park and refuge. See the park and refuge websites for details.
IMPORTANT Registration Information
Please read carefully the following information before registering:
Online registration will open in spring 2012. E-mail prill@ou.edu to be added to the mailing list to receive updates.
Cost will be $7 for students, $12 for non-students. The increase in registration price is to help off-set the cost of event tent, table, and chair rental.
In appreciation of the dedication and hard work of our volunteer expert biologists, we will be waiving the registration fee for all taxa team leaders and activity leaders. If you fall into this category – don’t register (you will be contacted by BioBlitz! staff).
Registration includes:
- 2 nights tent camping in designated area at Foss State Park (full bathrooms with coin operated showers available)
- Event t-shirt
- Friday night camp snacks
- Saturday morning early, light breakfast
- full schedule of activities during the inventory
- 24 hours of BioDiversity!
There will be NO MEAL provided on Friday night. The facilities at the park make it difficult for us to provide a full meal to a large group, but we will have snacks on Friday evening. The park is 14 miles from downtown Clinton, which as has a variety of restaurants and stores.
T-shirts are guaranteed to those who register two weeks before the event date (October 5). Registration will close one week before the event.
There will be NO ON-SITE REGISTRATION. All registration must be done prior to arriving at BioBlitz!
Everyone must register individually – except children under school age (they may attend for free).
No registration fees will be refunded. If you are unable to attend the event, or if the event is cancelled, your registration fee will be considered a donation to future BioBlitz! activities.
BioBlitz! may be cancelled in the case of extremely, severe weather. The event will be held in the event of rain. If cancelled, we will make every effort to reschedule the event.
If you register, but do not attend, you will not be guaranteed an event t-shirt.
Directions to BioBlitz! 2012
Base Camp will be at Foss State Park. The tentative location is the Cedar Point Area in the south-east corner of the park
From I-40 West, take exit 41, Hwy 34 toward Woodward. Follow Hwy 34 North for 9 miles. Turn east onto OkHwy 73, travel approximately 12.5 miles. Turn north to enter park and follow signs to Base Camp.
From I-40 East, exit at Clinton. Follow OkHwy 73 west out of town. Travel approximately 14 miles on OkHwy 73. When you reach the park, follow signs to Base Camp.
GPS Coordinates: 35.539137° -99.193859°
What should I bring to BioBlitz!?
While we can’t list all things you might need, here is a list of suggested items that you might want while attending BioBlitz!
Remember you are responsible for your own camping and personal equipment.
Camping equipment, including:
- tent and bedding
- camp chair
- flashlight or headlamp
Food and bottles for water (only the light Saturday breakfast is provided). Water will be available at Base Camp to fill your bottles.
Clothing and personal items, including
- Sturdy shoes
- Hat
- Long pants
- Towel and toiletries (coin operated hot showers are available)
- Mug, water bottle, cup
- Sunscreen
- Insect repellent
Equipment to observe, collect, and identify organisms, including:
- Binoculars
- Handlens or magnifying glass
- Identification guides and taxonomic keys
- Nets for terrestrial and aquatic organisms
- Camera
- Notebook, clipboard and paper, and writing utensils
And, of course, bring your enthusiasm for learning more about Oklahoma’s biodiversity!
Schedule of Activities
Download a copy of the detailed schedule as a PDF
General Tentative Schedule
Friday
Afternoon activities
- Bird walk
- Basics of insect collecting
- Get to know the common plants
- Setting mammal traps and track stations
Evening activities
- Night time insect collecting
- Friday night treats
- Family Night Hike
- Butterfly slide show
Saturday
- Light and early breakfast
- Check mammal traps and track stations
- Bird walks
- Biogeography Tour
- Ethnobotany walk
- Insect collecting
- Dragonfly walk
- Hunting for Herps
- Slither and Hiss program
- Butterfly walk
- Fish seining
- Nature and Eco Crafts
- Jr. Biologist activity
Celebration of BioBlitz! Oklahoma
- Cake
- Inventory Announcements
Showing and chat with the producer of “Where Did the Horny Toads Go?”
Taxa Checklists (download as PDFs)
Lists represent species that have been previously found in the in area or statewide.
During BioBlitz! you will not find all these species and you may find ones to add to this list.
- Vascular Plants (species observed in Custer County)
- Butterflies (species observed in Custer County)
- Moths (species observed in Custer County)
- Dragonflies and Damselflies (species observed in Custer County)
- Fish (statewide checklist)
- Mammals (statewide checklist)
◦ Mammals (statewide list with additional information)
- Birds (statewide checklist)
- Reptiles (statewide checklist)
Top 20 – list of twenty species you can learn more about that you might see at BioBlitz! 2012