Cross Timbers Experimental Range

The Cross Timbers Experimental Range (CTER) was developed by the Agricultural Experiment Station in the early 1980s. The unit is dedicated to long-term grazing-scale research of integrated resource management systems in the upland hardwood forest vegetation type. Although the management of the research unit is coordinated by research scientists in the Departments of Plant and Soil Science and Animal Science, an interdisciplinary research team, composed of a range scientist, range nutritionist, brush and weed scientist, wildlife ecologist, and an agricultural economist, designs and conducts research on the unit.

The 1760 acre unit lies seven miles southwest of Stillwater near the western edge of the Cross Timbers resource area. The CTER occupies a rugged landscape which is dissected by stream drainages with steep slopes. The vegetation is dominated by blackjack and post oak with interspersed tallgrass prairies. The upland forest varies from open savannah with productive grass understory to dense thickets with negligible forage production in the understory.

The CTER is subdivided into twenty-two 80-acre pastures. Two pastures are utilized for livestock shipping and receiving. The remaining 20 pastures are part of a study initiated in 1983 to compare vegetation, livestock, and wildlife responses to five brush management treatments, consisting of a factorial arrangement of two herbicides with and without spring-burning and an untreated control. Each treatment is replicated four times. After 14 years, the various brush management schemes have produced five vegetation types of differing diversity and potential for multiple-use management and research.

Animal Science Building - Oklahoma Beef, Inc. - Purebred Beef Center - North LCB Range - South LCB Range - Sparks Research Center - Animal Science Arena - Ft. Reno Station - FAPC - Wheat Research Unit

NPRC - PASS/AnSci Range - Noble Research Center - DNA Facility - Feed Mill - Cross Timbers - Bluestem - Klemme Station