Optima National Wildlife Refuge

(Satellite of Washita NWR)
Route 1, Box 68
Butler, OK 73625
(405) 664-2205

Directions: 2 miles Northwest of Hardesty, Oklahoma, on Highway 3. Managed from the Washita NWR headquarters.

Primary Wildlife: Resident wildlife such as white-tailed deer, Rio Grande turkey, pheasant and quail, as well as migratory songbirds. Provides important nesting habitat for raptors.

Habitat: Small canyon surrounded by rolling prairie.

Recreation and Education: Hunting and wildlife observation.

Special Note: Water levels of the Optima Reservoir (operated by the Corps of Engineers) have never reached projected levels and the lake shore remains 0.5 mile downstream of the refuge boundary. The refuge was to provide migration and wintering habitat for the short-grass prairie population of Canada geese and High Plains mallards.