Category: 2016
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USDA announces 2016 conservation partnership projects
Texas is the recipient of three of the 84 conservation projects that are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2016 Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), a partner-driven, locally led approach to conservation. The Fort Hood Private Lands Conservation Initiative is a partnership between the Compatible Lands Foundation and the U.S. Army to preserve 22,000 acres of grazing…
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Water Daze event and poster competition will be March 29-30 at Texas A&M
The Water Management and Hydrological Science (WMHS) program at Texas A&M University is hosting Water Daze, a public event featuring keynote speaker Dr. Michael Campana, faculty research presentations and a student poster competition, March 29-30 on the Texas A&M campus. A professor at Oregon State University and technical director of the American Water Resources Association, Campana is a national expert…
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Extremely Expected
In 2011 Texas experienced the driest year in its recorded history. 2015 was the wettest year on record with May 2015 the wettest month ever. Heading into fall 2016, experts were predicting a warm, dry winter. Welcome to Texas weather. This extreme variation in Texas weather is common, experts said. Dr. Nelun Fernando, hydrologist for…
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Do you live in Flash Flood Alley?
By Leslie Lee For many Texans, the Hill Country is not just a region but a way of life: beautiful vistas of rocky hillsides, small towns with live music and quaint festivals, and, of course, hot summer days spent diving into spring-fed swimming holes or floating down iconic rivers. Those same rivers can tell another…
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How to deal with Extremes
By Leslie Lee Flooding Drive informed: drivetexas.org The Texas Department of Transportation provides Texas drivers with the most accurate, up-to-date and real-time road conditions, including roads closed due to floodwaters. Follow these experts: Keep up with drought data: droughtmonitor.unl.edu The United States Drought Monitor is a weekly map showing drought occurrence and severity. Follow Texas’ map to…
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Philip Bedient
In the early 1970s, when the environmental movement was just beginning and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was newly established, a college student in Florida began studying environmental engineering and water issues. Little did he know that for the next 40 years he would live and work in the “flood mecca of the United…
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Fisheries in Flux
By Leslie Lee Lake Fork is one of Texas’ most famous bass fishing destinations. Every year the East Texas reservoir hosts multiple professional tournaments and draws recreational fishing crowds most every spring and fall weekend. When the Sabine River Authority created the lake in the early 1980s, standing timber was left in place on much of the flooded land,…
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Rising to the Challenge
By Eva Vigh If Russell Meier had not been a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers natural resource specialist, he might have been more worried about the rising flood waters at Somerville Lake during the 2016 Memorial Day weekend. For days, the weather across southeast and Central Texas had gone from bad to worse, with severe storms bringing huge amounts…
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Equipping a resilient community
By Leslie Lee The Houston Ship Channel is a huge part of the Texas and national economy. Its 52 miles of winding waterways are lined with industrial terminals and plants, providing an enormous amount of jobs for the region. Families also live, work and play in neighborhoods along the ship channel. Southeast of downtown Houston,…
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Breaking barriers
By Eva Vigh Old timers say Magic Ridge Marsh in Magnolia Beach, Texas, used to be a great fishing spot. But for the past 50 years, it’s gotten harder and harder to land a bite. The saltwater marsh covers roughly 14 square miles, stretching from Magnolia Beach to Indianola in Calhoun County, and had been…
