August

Join the Texas Water Resources Institute and the National Ground Water Association Sept. 9 in recognizing the importance of groundwater as part of Protect Your Groundwater Day.

Protecting groundwater consists of protecting it from contamination and using the resource wisely, and citizens’ actions directly impact groundwater quality and quantity, according to NGWA.

Dr. Kirk Winemiller became fascinated by natural science at an early age. “As a child, I liked the outdoors, and I liked animals,” he said. “I grew up in a rural area playing outside in the woods and meadows, especially streams.”

The Texas Water Resources Institute created the Carters Creek Stream Team in late 2012 to expand the local water quality monitoring workforce and collect water samples across the Carters Creek watershed, which encompasses much of the Bryan and College Station area.

Oil and gas exploration operations can and must operate under environmentally sound practices and according to a research study at Texas A&M University, hydraulic fracturing in the Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas can lessen its environmental impact by switching from fresh groundwater to abundant supplies of brackish groundwater.

Severe drought across Texas since 2011 has produced a unique opportunity for Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists to gain a greater understanding of the decaying process of trees and the effects on the surrounding ecosystem.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service has published a new resource for landowners and managers, “Riparian Restoration on Farms and Ranches in Texas.”

The new publication, which has been given the identification number WF-010, can be downloaded for free or purchased at $3 per hard copy through the AgriLife Bookstore, said Blake Alldredge, AgriLife Extension wildlife associate at College Station.

Texas state parks remain among the few public places in one of the nation’s most populous and increasingly urbanized states where the starry heavens can be viewed in all their celestial glory with the minimal intrusion of artificial light. Copper Breaks State Park in the Panhandle Plains and Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in the Hill Country are the first Texas state parks to be designated International Dark Sky Parks by the International Dark-Sky Association.

Identifying, but more importantly gaining adoption, of the most efficient irrigation systems is an important step in water conservation within agriculture, according to a recent study conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Research.