A Second Chance for Hackberry Flat
By Gary Koehler, Senior Writer
This wide-open wetland restoration project provides habitat for waterfowl and a challenge for hunters
Being familiar with the territory, Kelvin Schoonover and Jerry Abbott knew what to expect and came prepared. They said layout boats were the order of the day at Hackberry Flat Wildlife Management Area (WMA). No problem; mine had survived the 10-hour excursion from west Tennessee in the back of the truck. What was not in the brochure, however, was a description of what was hidden under the eight inches of water we would be hunting.
Five minutes after pulling a shallow-draft duck boat across a narrow channel, my chest waders were headed one way and I was going another. The mysterious gray glop intent on tripping me up could not be mud; it had to be wet cement, or a similar concoction.
"This mud, there's nothing quite like it," the long-legged and sure-footed Abbott says. "A couple of guys came in here a while back and I think they called it industrial-strength mud. That's about right."
"It's Roscoe clay, actually," says Schoonover, who manages the 7,120-acre site for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife. "And it can get pretty tough to walk through."
They need not tell me. Cardiac arrest seemed imminent until Schoonover changed direction and headed west, opting not to trudge to the center of this 200-acre pool.
"Over there, where the vegetation's a little thicker, I think we'll have a better chance getting hidden," Schoonover says. "When it gets light, you'll see there's not much cover."
Such may be the most imposing dilemma facing waterfowlers at Hackberry Flat, tucked away deep in southwest Oklahoma, approximately five miles outside of Frederick. The region may be one of the Central Flyway's best-kept secrets. But getting properly camouflaged requires creativity.
"People are going to have to learn how to hunt out here," says Abbott, a firefighter by profession and part-time hunting guide (Triple H Lodge, 580-335-5385) by passion. "We don't normally use layout boats and things like that down here. This is all new. Most guys don't have this kind of stuff."
Would-be gunners may quickly learn that they need such equipment to get the job done right at Hackberry Flat, where, without the layouts, we would have looked like the proverbial three bumps on a log. The endless skyline and relative paucity of native vegetation demand a low profile. Otherwise, you can forget about working ducks.
Schoonover and Abbott have gone the extra mile in an effort to ensure their obscurity. They worked the previous afternoon cutting brush, then wove it into mats that they laid over their boats. Face masks and gloves complement their ruse.
"I have seen guys go out there and sit on buckets," Schoonover says. "That doesn't work. You can see them a mile away."
"Others will set up on the dike and throw out a few decoys and wonder why they aren't shooting any ducks. You've got to be hidden to have a chance," Abbott adds.
Once they get familiar with the property, serious hunters will catch on. Last season was the first the area was open to public waterfowl hunting, a milestone achievement after an extensive six-year habitat rehabilitation effort. The basin, a round depression nearly four miles across, and the state's largest natural wetland, was drained around the turn of the century and was used for agricultural production until this restoration project was initiated.
Like so many other large-scale wildlife habitat conservation projects, the rejuvenation of Hackberry Flat came as a result of a partnership involving both the public and private sectors. Ducks Unlimited, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and U.S. Geological Survey are just a few of the many players who helped make this project a reality.
The amount of work involved was incredible. The site now counts 86 water control structures, 35 miles of dikes and canals, 19 miles of county roads, and 32 wetland units. A 17-mile pipeline to deliver water was constructed, and 13,000 tons of gravel were hauled in. But this remains a work in progress. The management plan includes two more stages: development of a 400-acre reservoir on the north side of the site, and the addition of an interpretive center for visitors.
