Description
380 Pages | 6 x 9 | 180 color illus., 1 map | Hardcover | $32.95
Published: May 26th, 2026, OU Press
From the Gulf Coastal Plain home to alligators and palmettos in the southeastern corner of the state to high plains and mesas dotted with ponderosa pine and big horn sheep in the panhandle, Oklahoma teems with biodiversity and surprisingly variable topography. More than 2,000 species of plants and 800 vertebrate animals, including 450 different birds, fill the state’s distinct ecoregions. In A Naturalist’s Guide to Oklahoma, the first comprehensive exploration of these ecoregions, professional biologist Priscilla Crawford celebrates the natural diversity found across the state and in residents’ own backyards.
Crawford’s tour of the state’s natural riches explains why so many species of plants, animals, and bugs live here, and how to read the geological, climatological, and elevation transitions that make such diversity possible. With each chapter covering a different ecoregion, the book explores each area’s ecological, topographical, and geological features and the common and distinctive species found there. In addition, the author summarizes the ways in which humans have affected the landscape in each ecoregion for centuries. Finally, each chapter includes a list of the public lands in that ecoregion where readers can experience the nature described—and featured in more than 150 color photographs—firsthand.
Throughout the book, Crawford invites readers to learn more about Oklahoma’s natural environments, including those closer to home. Chapters on reservoirs and urban areas offer readers insight into the biodiversity of built environments—from where best to find wildlife and what kinds might be seen, to the appeal of “wild edges” gardeners might have thought merely a sign of neglect. Throughout, Crawford offers specific, helpful suggestions for how to make suburban Oklahoma yards a refuge for native flora and fauna, and how to collect and share data on local wildlife with others.
Long overdue, this lavishly illustrated, friendly guide is the book citizen-scientists and curious wanderers will want in their hands as they set out to explore the state’s abundant natural diversity.
Priscilla Crawford has been exploring Oklahoma’s biodiversity for over 25 years. Coming to Oklahoma to study grasslands at the University of Oklahoma, she soon found out that there was much more to Oklahoma than prairie! In 2002, she completed her M.S. researching the mesquite grasslands of southwestern Oklahoma. She went on to study Oklahoma’s biogeography and ecology for her doctorate. Working at the Oklahoma Biological Survey for the past 20 years, she has pursued projects across all of the state’s ecoregions – surveying endangered birds, looking for invasive aquatic plants, measuring trees of the Ozark forests, collecting data on mesquite grasslands, restoring biodiversity to degraded systems, and more. This book is an extension of her work organizing BioBlitz! OK for 15 years. Her career has focused on introducing people to the amazing ecosystems and organisms of the state and celebrating Oklahoma’s natural diversity.
Oct 12 - Nov. 7 - To celebrate the finale of her book tour around the state, Priscilla is riding from the northwest corner of the Panhandle to the southeastern corner of Oklahoma on her bike! If you are interested in following along, sign up for her newsletter, follow her on Instagram, or follow her on Facebook.
Hooked on Reading: ODWC's summer reading list
Naturalist Speaks at Library - Sequoyah County Times
New Book Explores Oklahoma's Natural World - WildSide Newsletter, ODWC
Scenes from Priscilla Crawford's book talk at Oxley Nature Center - TulsaPeople
Author Q&A - TulsaPeople
Interview - State Impact Oklahoma
5 Oklahoma Books to Read this Summer - KOSU news article
A Curious Pace - a short, local documentary about the Cross Timbers
