The Deep Fork National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States system of National Wildlife Refuges. It is located in Eastern Oklahoma, near the city of Okmulgee. The preserve runs along both banks of the Deep Fork River for about 20 miles.DescriptionThe refuge was established in June 1993 and dedicated in February 1995. The land within its legal boundaries is 18,359 acres of which 9,748.28 acres were in public ownership in 2015. Additional land will be purchased from willing sellers as funds are available.The refugee is a narrow ribbon of wetlands, oxbow lakes, swamps, and upland forests along the meandering Deep Fork River. More than 80 percent of the refuge floods annually, thus providing excellent habitat for waterfowl and a wide variety of other animals, including white-tailed deer, bald eagles, and wild turkey. 254 species of birds and 51 species of mammals have been recorded in the refuge. Beavers are so numerous as to be considered pests as are feral hogs.Most of the vegetation in the refuge is bottomland forests of oak, pecan, elm, hickory, ash, sugarberry, walnut, riverbirch, and willow. The area has been logged in the past and most of the forest is still relatively young, although a few patches of mature forests can be found.
