The Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI, will host a free Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Education Program from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. March 7 in Bryan for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Carters Creek and Navasota River watersheds.
The morning session will be held at the Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Drive in Bryan. The afternoon session will include a walk and presentations along Carters Creek.
“Riparian education workshops motivate informed landowners and local residents to adopt and support practices to better manage riparian and stream ecosystems,” said Alexander Neal, TWRI program specialist, Bryan-College Station. “Not only are water quality and quantity directly benefitted by the proper management, protection and restoration of these critical areas, but also enhanced are the soundness of stream banks, fish communities and aquatic habitats, just to name a few.”
All attendees must RSVP by March 3 at https://tx.ag/BryanMarch7 or by emailing Alexander.Neal@ag.tamu.edu. The workshop is co-hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Riparian Association and TWRI.
The program will include a lunchtime presentation, and a catered lunch is offered for $15, or you may bring your own lunch. This fee also helps cover the coffee and snack breaks.
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of TWRI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, NRCS, AgriLife Extension, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas Riparian Association.
Neal said they can offer the workshop without cost thanks to 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.
Improving water quality
The Carters Creek Watershed is the focus of water quality improvement efforts by stakeholders.
“Stakeholders recognize successful water quality improvement requires implementing a variety of management strategies,” said Jason Gerlich, research specialist for TWRI. “The riparian and stream workshop is an educational event supporting this effort.”
Neal said the workshop will focus on the nature and function of stream and riparian zones as well as the benefits and economic impacts from properly functioning riparian systems.
“Riparian areas — the green vegetated land areas adjacent to the bank of a stream, creek, bayou, river or lake — are unique and important ecosystems that provide many benefits including habitat and forage,” Neal said. “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.”
Earn continuing education units
Ricky Linex, retired NRCS wildlife biologist, Weatherford, 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, including three units — two general and one integrated pest management — for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders. Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours each from the Texas Forestry Association and the Society of American Foresters and eight hours from the International Society of Arboriculture. It offers seven credits from Texas Floodplain Management Association, seven hours for certified crop advisers, seven hours from the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying and six hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists. The program may also be used for continuing education units for professional engineers.
The urban riparian stream education program is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
For more information, contact Neal at Alexander.Neal@ag.tamu.edu or 979-314-2351, or visit texasriparian.org or Facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation.
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