The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI, and the Texas Riparian Association will host a free Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Education Program on June 2 in Weslaco.
The program will run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Arroyo Colorado watershed.
The morning session will take place at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 2401 Business Highway 83 East. The afternoon session will include a walk and presentations along a nearby stream.
Registration is required by May 27 at tx.ag/Weslaco26, and a catered lunch will be available for $15.
“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 improved by the proper management, protection and restoration of these critical areas, stream banks, fish communities and aquatic habitats are also enhanced.”
Focus on the Arroyo Colorado
The event will focus on water quality improvement efforts by stakeholders in the Arroyo Colorado watershed.
“Our stakeholders recognized that successful water quality improvement requires implementing a variety of management strategies,” said Samantha Colunga, TWRI program specialist, Weslaco. “The riparian and stream workshop is an educational event supporting this effort.”
Neal said the workshop will outline the nature and function of stream and riparian zones as well as the benefits and economic impacts of 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.”
About the workshop
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of TWRI, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas A&M Forest Service and the Texas Riparian Association.
The workshop is free thanks to program funding provided through a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Continuing education units offered
The workshop will offer the following continuing education units:
- Two general and one integrated pest management units for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders.
- Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours from the Texas Forestry Association, six and a half hours from the Society of American Foresters, and eight hours from the International Society of Arboriculture.
- Seven hours from the Texas Floodplain Management Association.
- Seven hours from Certified Crop Advisers.
- Seven hours from the Society for Range Management.
- Six hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists.
- The program may also be used for continuing education units for professional engineers and architects.
The riparian education program is managed by TWRI, a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that combines expertise across The Texas A&M University System.
For more information, contact Neal at alexander.neal@ag.tamu.edu, visit texasriparian.org, or facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation.
