The Texas Water Resources Institute Urban Riparian and Stream Restoration Program will host a workshop from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct. 14 in Mansfield for professionals interested in conducting stream restoration projects around the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
The morning session will be at the Mansfield Parks and Recreation Office, 1164 Matlock Road, Mansfield. The afternoon session will be outdoors along Walnut Creek to learn stream surveying techniques.
Attendees must register by Oct. 7 to Clare Escamilla, Texas Water Resources Institute research specialist, San Antonio, at 210-277-0292 ext. 205 or clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu or online at Texas A&M Marketplace.
Attendees are encouraged to register early as the workshop is limited to 30 people. Registration cost is $50 and includes all training materials, a catered lunch and a certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of the Texas Water Resources Institute and Texas A&M AgriLife Research.
The importance of riparian health
Riparian and stream degradation is a major threat to water quality, in-stream habitat, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic species and overall stream health, said Fouad Jaber, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist for the AgriLife Research Center in Dallas.
“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. “The goal of the workshop is for participants to better understand urban stream functions, impacts of development on urban streams, 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.”
Escamilla said the Texas Water Resources Institute is able to offer the workshop 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.
Continuing education opportunities
Escamilla 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 and more credits are in the process of being added.
Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours from the Society of American Foresters. The workshop 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 local chapters of Master Naturalists and Master Gardeners to see if the workshop is approved.
For more information, contact Escamilla or Jaber at 972-952-9672, Fouad.Jaber@ag.tamu.edu, or visit http://texasriparian.org or go to https://www.facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation on Facebook.
The urban riparian stream education program is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
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