Game Type Map The Game Types of Oklahoma

11. THE SHORTGRASS - HIGH PLAINS GAME TYPE

Definition

The Shortgrass - High Plains Game Type is found mainly in the three panhandle counties and western Harper, western Woodward and Ellis counties. This portion of Oklahoma is but a small part of a vast extent of similar grassland reaching between the tallgrass prairie and the Rocky Mountains from Central Texas north into Canada. For the most part the Shortgrass - High Plains Game Type is restricted to the higher Tertiary materials throughout the area. There are approximately 1,127 square miles of the type in western Oklahoma.

The original vegetation of the high plains type consisted mainly of buffalo grass (Buchloë dactyloides), and blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis), but in places little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), wire grass (Aristida spp.), and side oats grama (Bouteloua curtipendula) occur. Other plants such as scurf pea (Psoralea tenuiflora), partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasiculata), blazing star (Liatris spp.), day flower (Commelina erecta), bush morning glory (Ipomoea leptophylla) and gumweed (Grindelia squarrosa), appear on more shallow soils. In the wallows or sinks, smartweed (Polygonum spp.), ironweed (Vernonia spp.), door weed (Polygonum aviculare) and snow-on-the-mountain (Euphorbia marginata) are found. Cultivated fields support russian thistle (Salsola kali), sunflower (Helianthus spp.), cockle burr (Xanthum strumarium), lambs quarter (Chenopodium album), bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), ragweed (Artemisia spp.) and grassbur (Cenchrus carolinianus). Cholla (Opuntia imbricata) and prickly pear (Opuntia phaeacantha) cacti have appeared as a result of close grazing on some pastureland of the type.

Climatic Characteristics

The climate of the Shortgrass - High Plains Game Type is characterized by limited precipitation of irregular seasonal distribution, a high rate of evaporation, low relative humidity; a high average wind velocity; hot summer days followed by cool nights; and moderate winters with occasional severe cold spells of short duration. Normally most of the rainfall occurs in the late spring and summer months. A considerable amount of the moisture falls as sudden torrential rains resulting in heavy run-off on the tight land of some slope.

The growing season extends from 180 to 190 days. The average annual rainfall runs from 17-24 inches. High summer temperatures of 112 degrees have been recorded at Hooker, with a mean annual temperature of 55.7 degrees.

Physical Characteristics

The area is an extensive plain with the gently sloping smooth lying surface interrupted by breaks on the larger stream borders. Natural depressions known as "sinks" or "playa lakes" are scattered over much of the heavier soils.

Topographically these "high plains" are in a stage of extreme youth and drainage channels have not developed. Under the natural grass cover, most of the rainfall was absorbed in this soil or flowed a short distance into one of the sinks, where is evaporated or percolated downward to the ground water level. Geologically, the material supporting this type consists of an apron of debris extending eastward from the Rocky Mountains, having been deposited during Tertiary times.

The soils are generally fertile, having developed under a grass cover and comparatively low rainfall. Nitrogen content is high and very little leaching has taken place.

Land Use Characteristics

During the latter part of the nineteenth century when this type was first settled, very little land was cultivated. Settlements began as early as 1880 when ranches were established along streams and other sources of water. Most of the farm development took place after 1900 when the farmers took homesteads and began breaking the sod. The early attempts were sporadic and some areas have had as many as three influxes of farmers to the present date. The most extensive crop production took place just after World War I, due to the high farm grain prices. In recent years, use of heavy machinery has stimulated large scale farming, and most of the land suitable for cultivation has been broken.

The following outline incident of cropping in Cimarron county illustrates what happened throughout the entire Shortgrass - High Plains Game Type. Many settlers left the country between 1908-1912. There were crop failures between 1912-1920. The years between 1920-1923 were so dry that there was barely sufficient feed for livestock. In 1926 there was a bumper crop, in 1927 a complete failure and, since then, about three or four fair crops and the rest poor or failures. Since 1932 the area has suffered much from extreme drouth, dust storms, crop failures and low prices.

Around 50 percent of the Shortgrass - High Plains Game Type is under cultivation. The following table shows these percentages for the three principal counties of the type:

    County
    Cimarron
    Texas
    Beaver
    Cultivation %
    28.9
    61.3
    50.8
    Idle land %
    10.9
    5.1
    3.9
    Pasture %
    60.2
    33.6
    45.3
The 1930 census reports show around 38 percent of the farms being operated by tenants. This is rather misleading since many farmers owning land find it necessary to rent surrounding land, due to the owned acreage being small. Tenants here appear to have reached a higher percent of permanency than elsewhere. In Beaver county 31.4 percent of the tenants have lived on the same farms five years or more, with 27 percent remaining less than one year. Wheat and grain sorghum are the principal crops throughout the entire type condition.

Wildlife Characteristics

Game species here are scaled quail, mourning dove and the New Mexico cottontail. Bobwhite are found along the denser cover of the major streams where other type conditions are found. Pheasants, too, are found on the shortgrass condition, coming from the river bottom areas, and seem to be increasing in good number. Formerly vast herds of antelope and buffalo ranged over this area. Some thirty antelope are at the present found on the type north of Keyes. Further investigations may show possibilities for increasing antelope populations on the type. Yet it is extremely unlikely that populations sufficient to warrant hunting can ever be had.

About the plates

Plate XXX - Abandoned farmstead on Short Grass-High Plains Game Type. Serves as headquarters for a large covey of scaled quail.
Plate XXXI - Russian thistle collected against barbed wire. Scaled quail utilize these for fall cover.
Plate XXXII - Showing absence of winter game cover along highway in Short Grass-High Plains Game Type, Texas County.
Plate XXXIII - The beginning of recovery of Short Grass-High Plains Game Type, denuded by wind erosion. Note abundance of young sprouts of Russian thistle.

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