Located just south of Ardmore
Saturday, February 28, 2026
Morning: Walk and Talk
Expect to walk at a leisurely pace for a couple miles on trails through property.
Botantist, Amy Buthod will be on hand to talk about the flora.
Conservation biologist, Priscilla Crawford will talk about the ecology of the Cross Timbers.
Executive Director, Jim Kee-Rees will talk more about the land management and his personal experiences on the land.
Noon: Picnic lunch provided
Afternoon: Tree Planting
We will assist Jim and his farm assistant with planting saplings from Oklahoma Forestry Services in the bottomland forest area. Gloves and tools will be provided, but we encourage you to bring your own if you like. Please wear sturdy footware.
Registration is Required. Space is limited. Travel to site will be attendee’s responsibility. The property is approximately 10 miles south of Ardmore. Maps and directions will be provided to all registrants the week of the event. They will be emailed to the address you register under.
Field day is subject to postponement due to inclement weather. Rain date is set for Saturday March 7. Registrants will be notified by email or phone.
Accommodations on the basis of disability are available by contacting Priscilla Crawford at the Oklahoma Biological Survey (405-889-7188; prill@ou.edu).
History of the Land
The land that is now the Piers Nature Conservancy was purchased by Willie May Woodruff, her husband, Leonard J. Woodruff, Sr., and their daughter, Margueritte B. Piers. They named it the Wagon Stop Ranch.
The property has an old sulfur well. Willie May Woodruff told a reporter from The Daily Ardmoreite in June of 1975, “The well was used by hundreds in the days of the covered wagons, it’s why we call it the Wagon Stop Ranch.” In the same article, Mrs. Woodruff said, “I was able to find two cabins over near Milburn. The smaller cabin is 135 years old. The larger cabin is 185 years old, and the oak logs are put together with chinking and wooden pegs.” Both cabins continue to rest by one of the old wells and are still used today by the staff as living quarters.
The ranch was used for many years to raise and breed Arabian horses. Showing Arabians was a passion of Margueritte B. Piers, and some of the descendants she raised in the early years of the ranch still graze in the pastures. Willie May died in 1990, and the ranch passed to Margueritte. Towards the end of her life, Margueritte wanted to find a way to protect the horses, wildlife, and land she loved for almost half a century. In 1999 she created the Margueritte B. Piers Living Free Sanctuary for Animals and Nature Conservancy, Inc. Margueritte passed away peacefully in of 2003 knowing what she loved was protected for future generations.
Barbara Woodruff became the first Executive Director of the Piers Nature Conservancy. For over twenty years, she honored Margueritte’s original dream by caring for the horses, protecting wildlife, and preserving the land. Jim Kee-Rees, Barbara's son, is the current Executive Director, is continuing this heritage.
The mission of the organization is to maintain a sanctuary for the natural world: A place of beauty for those that visit, a nurturing home for all creatures that live here, and a land where the great prairie has not forgotten how to be wild.
Habitat
The Piers Nature Conservancy is combination of both working lands supporting rescued and retired horses and a diversity of natural habitats that support hundreds of species of plants, dozens of birds, countless insects and pollinators, and an abundance of other wildlife. The property includes springs that flow from the Arbuckle-Simpson aquifer, native grass prairie, and cross timbers woodland.
Springs flowing from the underground aquifer provide a perennial water sources for wildlife to thrive. Not only does aquatic wildlife such as turtles, frogs, fish, muskrat, and crayfish depend on the water, but terrestrial animals are also drawn to the permanent stream and ponds. Deer, raccoons, coyotes, foxes, and opossums depend on these reliable sources of water. The larger ponds on the property boost bird diversity by attracting flocks of waterfowl, wading birds, and red-wing blackbirds.
The southern end of the property has a healthy stand of native prairie grasses with the indian grass and big bluestem growing over five feet tall in some locations. Among the tall grasses native wildflowers grow, including the state rare Oklahoma penstemon (Penstemon oklahomensis).
Mesquite shrubland in the native grass prairie provides nesting habitat for the Bell's Vireo, a migratory songbird. This uncommon bird holds a special conservation status by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation because nesting populations in the state are considered vulnerable.
Post oak trees dominate the cross timbers woodland on the uplands of the northeastern corner of the property. The cross timbers ecoregion is often described as a tangle of stiff oak limbs, prickly green briar, and twining grape vines. The most spectacular is American beautyberry which produces brilliantly mauve fruits in the late summer.
The variety of terrain, the year-round water source, and the combination of natural habitats all contribute to the wonderful natural beauty that can be found on the property. The Piers Nature Conservancy is working to protect this natural diversity and to enhance it through habitat management techniques that mimic natural environmental processes.
Biodiversity is being maintained on the property with regular prescribed burns and woody plant removal.
Space is limited; registration is required. Maps and directions will be provided to all registrants. Field day is subject to postponement due to inclement weather. Rain date TBA. Registrants will be notified by email or phone.
Accommodations on the basis of disability are available by contacting Priscilla Crawford (405-889-7188; prill@ou.edu) ten days prior to the event.
