<div>JET, Okla. — A season of change is bringing a stir of excitement for staff and visitors at Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Northwest Oklahoma, and it’s not only on the wings of the annual fall bird migration.“Visitor center in progress!” a recent social media post revealed, along with photos of current renovations illustrating the work at the refuge.“The new visitor center is getting installed,” the post reads. “Please be extra careful visiting. There is not an official opening day yet but hopefully soon!”The visitor and information center has been closed to the public since 2016, when lightning sparked a fire at the facility.“So we used that opportunity from there to update our visitor center,” said Melissa Robell, visitor services specialist at Salt Plains NWR, “and we have really cool, new panels and exhibits that are interactive, highlighting different species that come through the refuge, like the endangered whooping crane …”Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge was established on March 26, 1930, according to its website, www.fws.gov/refuge/salt-plains, “as a refuge and breeding ground for birds.”It also is designated a critical habitat for the whooping crane, North America’s tallest and one of its rarest birds. With a population once in the thousands, the whooping crane declined to just 15 in 1941 that would winter at a refuge in Texas.Through an international recovery plan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates about 550 whooping cranes exist today, with one of its favored winter roosts still along the Texas coast. The endangered bird flies as far north as Canada and south into Mexico, with the Salt Plains NWR frequently one of its stops along with way in spring and fall.An exhibit of the whooping crane will be one of the highlights of newly renovated center, with a mount of the bird to show people the true size of the creature.“So it’ll just be cool, because there can be a lot of people come to see them, and they can be hard to see,” Robell said, explaining the cranes roost in wetland areas, sometimes far from the trails and blinds where scopes help visitors view them.The cranes also tend to visit amongst thousands of sandhill cranes, which are a smaller, different species, so the display in the center will help people see the differences.“It’s such a cool mount and display to have, and we’re really excited to show that off and welcome people in, have them see that and have that opportunity,” she said.No set opening date yetThere has not been a date set for the opening of the center, Robell said. When asked if it would be done by the end of the year she said she hopes so but offered no guarantee.“We’ve been working really hard to get it open soon,” she said, adding there will be announcements on the facility’s website and social media. “We will invite people, and since it’s been a while since it’s been open … we will have, like, an opening type of event, and then really celebrate it and invite people in. And we’re really excited to do that.”With the facilities closed, Robell still encourages visitors to the refuge to approach the center. Staff try to watch and come out to provide information, maps and brochures about the area.“I really enjoy connecting to visitors and answering their questions and hearing their stories and how they love visiting the refuge. That’s a really positive and happy part of my position,” Robell said.* Other exhibits and improvementsIn addition to thousands of migrating birds, a main draw for visitors at the park is the selenite crystals, which the public is allowed to dig for and find on the salt flats of the refuge from April through mid-October every year.Scientists believe the area once was covered by repeated rises of a shallow, inland sea that deposited layers of salt. Saline groundwater flows just below the surface, according to the Oklahoma Historical Society, https://www.okhistory.org.That process, according to the site, forms the crystals on the western side of the refuge, east of Cherokee, which are open annually through rotation.That popular area also will see some new signs and graphics, as will some of the trails, Robell said.“As part of that contract, we’re not just updating our visitor center, but we also have new outdoor panels with information, an updated refuge map and just highlighting the species and what you can do on refuge … making it clearer and easier for people to get around on refuge. And, it’s really amazing graphics, so we’re really excited about all this together.”The center when open also will showcase the military history of Salt Plains, as the salt flats were used as an artillery range during World War II.“And so we have glass vials from training,” Robell said. “We have a practice bomb that was used, as well, that people can see and view.”Other exhibits will showcase the least tern, another bird species that relies on the ecosystem of the refuge, as well as many other birds and wildlife that frequent the area and flora and fauna that grow.Connecting with peopleRobell, who has been in her position for three years, said the reopening of the center definitely will enhance her work at the refuge.“I’m really excited just to be able to engage with people a little bit easier and have that space for the community,” she said. “And we want to work with people and connect with them.”Most of the refuge staff work during week, which is the best time to connect. Robell said she often travels the refuge on Saturdays during the summer and early fall months while the crystal digging is ongoing, helping visitors dig for selenite crystals and explore the area, which features a state park dam adjacent to the separate, federal refuge and wetlands areas.Cabins, picnic and outdoor activities such as fishing are draws for the state park.“We understand a lot of people come on weekends,” Robell said, adding in the future staff and volunteers on the weekends would be a great goal.Salt Plains NWR also travels outside the park to educate and will host Slithering Saturday beginning at 11 a.m. Oct. 12, 2024 at the Cherokee City County Public Library. There will be presentations about common snakes in Northwest Oklahoma and a variety of live animals until 1 p.m. Everything is free and open to all ages.For information about Slithering Saturday or the Salt Plains NWR, contact Robell at (580) 626-4794 or go to the website or social media outlets.</div>

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Salt Plains NWR renovating visitor center with plans to reopen facility

JET, Okla. — A season of change is bringing a stir of excitement for staff and visitors at Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge in Northwest Oklahoma, and it’s not only on the wings of the annual fall bird migration. “Visitor center in progress!” a recent social media post...