J. T. Nickel Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve, Cherokee State Park

The J.T. Nickel Family Nature and Wildlife Preserve, located in Cherokee County, Oklahoma is privately owned and managed by the Oklahoma Nature Conservancy. The preserve contains 17,000 acres of forest and grassland. Spring-fed creeks meander amid a rugged topography of steep slopes and narrow valleys harboring a mosaic of oak-hickory forest, lofty pine woodland, and a diverse mix of savanna, shrubland, and prairie. Elk have been reintroduced at the Preserve ()