A creek with trees lining its banks in Bellville, Texas. The Aug. 30 Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop in Industry will cover topics relating to the Mill Creek watershed.
The Aug. 30 Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop in Industry will cover topics relating to the Mill Creek watershed. (Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)

A Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop on the Mill Creek watershed will be held Aug. 30 in Industry.

The free event is scheduled from 1-5:30 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 15994 State Highway 159 West. To RSVP, visit https://tx.ag/LSHSAustinCounty.

The workshop is a joint effort between the Mill Creek Watershed Partnership, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.

Two integrated pest management units are available for Texas Department of Agriculture private pesticide applicator license holders.

Watershed quality, best practices for livestock management

The workshop will focus on the quality of the Mill Creek watershed and best practices for managing grazing livestock and feral hogs to minimize bacterial contamination.

“The goal of the Lone Star Healthy Streams program is to protect Texas waterways from bacterial contamination originating from livestock, wildlife and invasive species that may pose a serious health risk to Texans,” said Leanne Wiley, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Lone Star Healthy Streams coordinator in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station. “The aim is to increase awareness of non-point source pollution, provide education materials to Texas producers and landowners, and encourage implementation.”

Protecting the Mill Creek watershed

Annalee Epps, AgriLife Extension program specialist and watershed coordinator in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station, will present the Mill Creek watershed protection plan and update participants on current water quality monitoring data.

For more information, contact Wiley at 979-321-5950 or [email protected]; Epps at 979-845-2862 or [email protected]; or Stacie Villarreal, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Austin County, at 979-865-2072 or [email protected].

Funding is provided through a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) nonpoint source grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.