The Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI, Urban Riparian and Stream Restoration Program will host a workshop from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 2 in San Antonio. The workshop is for professionals interested in conducting stream restoration projects around the San Antonio area.
The morning session will be at the Memorial Auditorium at the Witte Museum, 3801 Broadway, San Antonio. The afternoon session will be outdoors, in and along the San Antonio River, to learn stream surveying techniques.
Attendees must register by March 26 to Alexander Neal, TWRI program specialist, at 979-314-2351, Alexander.Neal@ag.tamu.edu, or tx.ag/RiparianApril2. Attendees should register early as the workshop due to space limitations. Registration cost is $50 and includes all training materials, a catered lunch and a certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and TWRI specialists will lead workshop presentations.
Threats to water quality
“Riparian and stream degradation is a major threat to water quality, in-stream habitat, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic species, and overall stream health,” said Fouad Jaber, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension program specialist in Dallas.
He said proper management, protection and restoration of these riparian areas will improve water quality. It will also lower in-stream temperatures, improve aquatic habitat and ultimately improve macrobenthos and fish community integrity.
“The goal of the workshop is for participants to better understand urban stream functions, impacts of development on urban streams, recognize healthy versus degraded stream systems, assess and classify a stream using the Rosgen method, and comprehend differences between natural and traditional restoration techniques,” Jaber said.
Continuing education units
Neal said participants will receive a certificate of completion and appropriate continuing education unit certificates at the conclusion of the training.
He said the workshop offers many types of continuing education units:
- 7 hours for Certified Crop Advisors
- 6 hours for Texas Floodplain Managers
- 6 hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists
Professional engineers and architects may also use the program for continuing education units. Check with your Chapter for Master Naturalist and Master Gardener to see if it is approved for your area.
Neal said TWRI can offer the workshop at a reduced cost thanks to program funding provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant. This grant is from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. For more information, contact Neal, visit texasriparian.org, or see facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation. TWRI manages the urban riparian stream education program. TWRI is a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that brings together expertise from across The Texas A&M University System.
