Nature and Wildlife
at
Okatibbee Lake

General Information

The bottomland forests and numerous beaver flowages provide a paradise for the bird watcher and nature enthusiast. The endangered American Alligator is a permenant resident of the project. Occasionally a Bald Eagle may be seen during spring, fall or winter. Eagles are transient residents of the project durring their annual migrations.

Public hunting is a popular activity at Okatibbee during the fall and winter. More than 4,000 acres of land are liscened to the Misissippi Department of Wildlife Conservation for wildlife management purposes.

Deer, squirrel, dove, ducks, geese, quail and woodcock are abundant. Food plots, nesting boxes, the selective clearing of brush, the planting of mud flats with grain crops during low water and agricultural leases are a few of the techniques used by the Corps of Engineers and the Department of Wildlife Conservation to promote populations of game and nongame birds and animals. State regulations govern hunting on project lands. Permits for the "Permit Hunting Areas" are free and can be obtained at the Resource Manager's Office, located at the west end of the dam.

Forest management practices of thinning overpopulated stands of trees, planting seedlings and prescribed burning compliment the wildlife conservation program. Revenues generated from the sale of harvested timber are returned to the project to help defray the cost of overall natural resource and management programs.

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