KINGSVILLE – The Texas Water Resources Institute, or TWRI, will host a free Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem training workshop from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. April 16 in Kingsville for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in Kleberg County.
The morning session will be at the Recreation Hall at Dick Kleberg Park, 501 E. Escondido Road. The afternoon session will include a creek-side walk and presentations.
A program related to protecting and preserving the Baffin Bay area will be held April 16 in Kingsville. (Photo courtesy of Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program)
Clare Entwistle, TWRI research associate in San Antonio, said the workshop is co-hosted locally by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Kleberg County, Nueces River Authority and the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program.
Attendees must RSVP by April 11 online at http://bit.ly/2FnLfTx or to Entwistle at 210-277-0292, ext. 205, or clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu.
The program will include a lunchtime presentation. A catered lunch is available to participants for $10, or participants may bring their own lunch.
Rae Mooney of the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program said the program is dedicated to protecting and restoring the health and productivity of the bays and estuaries in the Texas Coastal Bend, including Baffin Bay on the border of Kleberg and Kenedy counties.
“Baffin Bay, part of the larger Laguna Madre in South Texas, is well known for its recreational value, especially fishing,” Mooney said. “However the bay has been plagued with water quality problems.”
Entwistle said proper management, protection and restoration of these areas directly influences water quality and quantity, plus stabilizes stream banks and improves fish and aquatic habitats and communities.
“The goal of the workshop is for participants to better understand riparian and watershed processes, the benefits of healthy riparian areas and what resources are available to prevent degradation while improving water quality,” she said.
Entwistle said the institute is able to offer the workshop without cost thanks to program funding provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Francisco Escobedo, AgriLife Extension agent for Kleberg and Kenedy counties, said participants will receive a certificate of completion and appropriate continuing education unit certificates at the conclusion of the training.
The workshop offers many types of continuing education units, credits or hours, including:
- Three units – two general and one integrated pest management – for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders.
- One unit from the TWRI.
- Seven credits from Texas Floodplain Management Association.
- Seven hours for Certified Crop Advisors.
- Seven hours from the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying.
- Six hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists.
The program may also be used for continuing education units for professional engineers.
The riparian education program is managed by TWRI, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
For more information, contact Entwistle or visit http://texasriparian.org or go to Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation.
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Contacts: Clare Entwistle, 210-277-0292 ext. 205, Clare.Entwistle@ag.tamu.edu
Rae Mooney, 361-336-0310, rmooney@cbbep.org
