Carl Blackwell Lake

Carl Blackwell Lake
Location Payne County, Oklahoma
Coordinates 36°08′02″N 97°13′26″W / 36.134°N 97.224°W / 36.134; -97.224Coordinates: 36°08′02″N 97°13′26″W / 36.134°N 97.224°W / 36.134; -97.224
Type Reservoir
Etymology Carl Petty Blackwell, Sr. (1886-1937)
Primary inflows Stillwater Creek
Primary outflows Stillwater Creek
Basin countries United States
Built 1937
Surface area 3,370 square feet (313 m2)
Max. depth 45.9 feet (14.0 m)
Water volume 61,500 acre feet (75,900,000 m3)
Shore length1 59.2 miles (95.3 km)
Surface elevation 944 feet (288 m)
Settlements Stillwater, Oklahoma
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Carl Blackwell Lake is 8 miles (13 km) west of Stillwater, Oklahoma. Primarily a recreational area, it is almost mid way between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. It was constructed in 1937.[1] The lake is owned and operated by Oklahoma State University (OSU).[2]

Etymology

The lake was named for Carl Petty Blackwell, Sr. (1886-1937), who had been dean of agriculture and director of the experimental station of the Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College at Stillwater (now the Oklahoma State University (OSU).[3]

General description

The lake has a surface area of 3,370 square miles (8,700 km2), a capacity of 61,500 acre feet (0.0759 km3), a shoreline of 59.2 miles (95.3 km) and a normal surface elevation of 944 feet (288 m). The maximum depth has been reported as 45.9 feet (14.0 m).[1]

Recreation area

An 800 acres (3,200,000 m2) recreation area adjoins the lake. It is also owned an managed by OSU. Activities include camping, horseback riding trails, mountain bike trails, boating, hiking, fishing, duck hunting and picnicking.

Shooting center

A controversial shooting center (gun range) was approved by the OSU regents in 2017. An environmental impact assessment (EIR) was underway in April 2018, and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation is applying for construction funding from the Wildlife Conservation Program.[4]

The center would fence off a 358 acres (1,450,000 m2) part of the Blackwell Lake recreational area to include an archery range, two rifle ranges, a pistol range, a sporting clay course, four skeet fields, three skeet or trap fields and four trap fields along with amenities like parking and restrooms. It would also be open to the public for training and hunter safety programs. The estimated annual cost is $415,000.[4]

Future projects, according to the OSU construction project manage include adding a conservation center, nature trail, two sporting clay courses, a FITASC shooting competition parcours, 3-D archery and a pavilion with restrooms.[4]

Opposition has come mainly from Lake Blackwell equestrian group who had been putting their own labor and money into building the riding trails that will be eliminated by the new facility since the 1960s. Group members have said that they have built a 50 miles (80 km) riding trail complex, they built Hunt's Meadow, a primitive 19-site campground, picnic tables and hitching posts.[4]


References

  1. 1 2 "Carl Blackwell Lake, Oklahoma." anglerhub. undated. Accessed May 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Parks, Trails & Open Spaces." City of Stillwater. Undated. Accessed. May 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Carl Petty Blackwell, Sr." Find a Grave. Accessed May 29, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Charles, Michelle. "Gun range plan spooks Lake Carl Blackwell trail riders." Stillwater News Press. Accessed April 16, 2018.
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