Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop set for March 10 in Orange
Meeting will address natural resource priorities, watershed health, livestock and land management
Lone Star Healthy Streams, LSHS, will host a workshop on March 10 in Orange focusing on several total maximum daily load projects in the county. The workshop will coincide with a local workgroup meeting held by the Lower Sabine-Neches Soil and Water Conservation District addressing natural resource priorities for Orange County.
The free event will be from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office for Orange County, 11475 Farm-to-Market Road 1442. Lunch will be included.
Each participant is permitted to submit one soil sample from pasture, range or hay fields. Fees will be covered by the LSHS program for samples brought to the event. Samples should be collected according to the instructions on the soil submittal form.
The workshop is offered as an educational component of the watershed protection plan, in collaboration with the Lower Sabine-Neches Soil and Water Conservation District, Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI, Sabine River Authority, AgriLife Extension and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, TSSWCB.
Program focus
The workshop will focus on watershed health, water quality, non-point source pollution, and voluntary best management practices for land and livestock. The work group meeting will help shape plans and priorities to guide the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service in addressing local natural resource issues.
Participants will have an opportunity to discuss and determine conservation planning for the upcoming fiscal year.
“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 by discussing proven conservation efforts,” said Leanne Wiley, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Lone Star Healthy Streams coordinator, Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
“The aim is to increase awareness of nonpoint source pollution, discuss conservation efforts, provide education materials to Texas producers and landowners, and encourage implementation,” Wiley said.
AgriLife Extension, TWRI and TSSWCB advocate for best management practices that will have a positive impact on these watersheds. Watershed project personnel will provide a brief background on each project and current water quality monitoring data.
Funding for this effort 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.
For more information, contact the Lower Sabine-Neches Soil and Water Conservation District at 409-790-2352 or [email protected], the AgriLife Extension office for Orange County at 409 882-7010 or [email protected]; or Wiley at 979-321-5950 or [email protected].
