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Oklahoma City Zoo expert leads research contributing to insect conservation
news
May 31, 2023
Oklahoma City Zoo expert leads research contributing to insect conservation

The Oklahoma City Zoo and Botanical Garden’s Postdoctoral Fellow in Conservation and Science, Dr. Emily Geest, led a study published in the Journal of Insect Conservation and Diversity, a scientific journal for insect research, about the temporal effects of fire on the tallgrass prairie butterfly community. Tallgrass prairie is one of the most threatened ecosystems in the world with only an estimated one percent remaining in the world.

Patch-burn grazing is a management method used to help maintain habitat in the remaining tallgrass prairie. Patchburn grazing uses cattle’s natural affinity for fresh grass after fire to create a patchy habitat. However, the temporal effects of fire on the butterfly community are not well understood. To help address this knowledge gap, Dr. Geest along with collaborators from Oklahoma State University conducted a study at The Nature Conservancy’s Joseph H. Williams’ Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Pawhuska, Okla., investigating how time since fire and season of fire impacts butterflies.

Researchers looked at sites that had undergone recent burns (2 years since fire) as well as sites burned in the spring and in the summer. Researchers found that species such as the monarch butterfly, Arogos skipper, and common wood-nymph may benefit from fire every one-to-two years, while other species such as the Reakirt’s blue may need longer times between fire treatments. Season of burn is also important as summer burned sites had higher butterfly species diversity than spring burned sites. Overall, researchers concluded that patch-burn grazing can be beneficial to the overall butterfly community by creating patchy habitats that support multiple species at a time compared to the use of a single fire treatment that benefits a few select species.

The Zoo is committed to taking action for monarch conservation and creating habitat space for pollinators. Monarch butterflies are an imperiled species in need of our help. Over the last 20 years, monarch populations have decreased by about 90 percent. In 2014, monarchs were petitioned to be listed under the federal Endangered Species Act, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature classified the migratory monarch population as endangered in 2022. Monarchs face a number of threats to their populations including habitat loss and the use of pesticides.

These butterflies are the first insect to have an Association of Zoos and Aquariums SAFE: Saving Animals from Extinction program and the Zoo’s senior director of conservation, education, and science serves on the steering committee for the SAFE: North American monarch program. One way the Zoo is helping monarch populations is by creating a habitat for pollinators throughout the park and in partnership with schools. The Zoo’s pollinator garden is a registered Monarch Waystation that provides resources for monarchs and other pollinators. The Zoo also provides grants to local schools to create pollinator gardens at the schools, which are used as living classrooms to connect students with nature.

Jefferson Highway keeps on rollin’
A: Main, news
Jefferson Highway keeps on rollin’
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
Long before Route 66, there was the Jefferson Highway. Route 66 was a federally funded, 2,448-mile highway that crossed the country going east and west from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, Californ...
A: Main, news
Jacob Foos re-hired as Eufaula City Manager
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
It was a surprise hire, but not a total surprise as former Eufaula City Manager Jacob Foos was rehired as Eufaula’s city manager. The hiring took place following an executive session at a special meet...
A: Main, news
Complications of finding a city manager
June 11, 2025
Jeb Jones resigned as city manager in April. He was hired in 2022 to replace Jacob Foos, who had resigned months earlier and became assistant city manager in the City of Shawnee. Andrea Weckmuel-ler B...
A: Main, news
LEA Poker Run Saturday
June 11, 2025
The Golden Eagle Poker Run, one of the most popular events on Lake Eufaula, is Saturday, June 14. This year’s theme is Pirates & Parrots, so get your crew and costumes ready for a day of high seas adv...
McIntosh County Democrat wins Sequoyah Award
A: Main, news
McIntosh County Democrat wins Sequoyah Award
June 11, 2025
The Oklahoma Press Association presented its Better Newspaper Contest Awards during the OPA Annual convention June 6-7, at the Grand Casino Hotel and Resort in Shawnee. The top award a newspaper can r...
A: Main, news
Commissioners getting an increase in road spending
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
Rep. Tim Turner, R-Kinta, announced some good news and some bad news at the Monday morning Monthly County Commissioner meeting. First, the bad news, at least for those who oppose wind turbines in the ...
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Bridge dedicated to World War II veteran
A: Main, news
Bridge dedicated to World War II veteran
By JERRY FINK MANAGING EDITOR 
June 11, 2025
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation recently honored the late veteran William “Bill” Antrum Fox Jr. by naming a bridge after him. The William A. Fox Jr. Memorial Bridge is on SH 9 East at Nine M...
A: Main, news
Ten Mile Yard Sale this weekend
June 11, 2025
Bring an umbrella Bargain hunters set your alarms. The annual 10-milelong yard sale begins at 7 a.m. Sunday, stretching from the east end of Eufaula, down SH 9 east through Longtown and past Enterpris...
Preliminary set for 2 suspected of killing Eufaulan
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Preliminary set for 2 suspected of killing Eufaulan
June 11, 2025
Two Muskogee men charged with killing a Eufaula resident were ordered to appear at a preliminary hearing in district court at 10 a.m., Thursday, July 3. Suspects Kyren Omari Boulware, 19, and Michael ...
2 dead, 4 injured in pileup
news
2 dead, 4 injured in pileup
June 11, 2025
Two people from Marshall, Texas were killed, and four others were injured in a harrowing four-vehicle pileup on U.S. 69 half a mile south of the Muskogee City Limits at about 2:20 p.m. on Monday, June...
Fink inducted into OPA Half Century Club
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Fink inducted into OPA Half Century Club
June 11, 2025
Managing Editor Jerry Fink of The Eufaula Indian Journal and the McIntosh County Democrat was inducted into the Oklahoma Press Association Half Century Club on Saturday, June 7 at the Grand in Shawnee...
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