UPDATE: EVENT CANCELED
The Texas Water Resources Institute’s Urban Riparian and Stream Restoration Program will host an Urban Stream Processes and Restoration Training workshop from 8:30 a.m.–4 p.m. March 18 in Austin.
The TWRI training in Austin is for professionals interested in conducting stream restoration projects around that area.
The morning training session will be at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department office, 4200 Smith School Road. The afternoon session will be outdoors along Williamson Creek, where participants will learn stream surveying techniques.
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of TWRI and Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
Early registration is encouraged as the workshop is limited to 40 people. Cost is $50 and includes all training materials, a catered lunch and a certificate of completion.
Attendees must register by March 16 by contacting Clare Escamilla, TWRI research associate at the institute’s San Antonio office, at 210-277-0292, ext. 205, clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu or online at Texas A&M Marketplace.
Fouad Jaber, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist in Dallas, said riparian and stream degradation is a major threat to water quality, in-stream habitat, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic species and overall stream health.
“Proper management, protection and restoration of these riparian areas will improve water quality, lower in-stream temperatures, improve aquatic habitat and ultimately improve macrobenthos and fish community integrity,” he said.
Jaber said the goal of the training is for participants to better understand urban stream functions and impacts of development on urban streams.
“Attendees will also learn to recognize healthy versus degraded stream systems, assess and classify a stream using the Bank Erosion Hazard Index, and comprehend differences between natural and traditional restoration techniques,” he said.
Escamilla said the institute is able to offer the program at a reduced cost thanks to program funding provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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, and more credits are in the process of being added. Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours from the Society of American Foresters. It offers one unit from the Texas Water Resources Institute, seven hours for certified crop advisors and six hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists.
The program may also be used for continuing education units for professional engineers. Check with Master Naturalist and Master Gardener chapters to see if it is approved locally.
For more information, contact Escamilla, visit the program’s webpage or the Texas Riparian Association’s Facebook page.
The Texas Water Resources Institute is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
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