The Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) will host a free Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Education Program on May 5 in San Antonio.
The TWRI program is designed for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Upper San Antonio River Watershed and Medina River Watershed. The program is designed for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Upper San Antonio River Watershed and Medina River Watershed. The window to RSVP for the event has already passed.
Supporting, Managing Ecosystems
“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.
The Upper San Antonio River Watershed is the focus of watershed planning efforts by stakeholders.
“Stakeholders recognize successful implementation of a watershed protection plan requires implementing a variety of management strategies,” said Daniel Vann, SARA ecological restoration team leader. “The riparian and stream workshop is an educational event supporting this effort.”
Other local water bodies can also benefit from implementing riparian restoration practices to improve water quality. The workshop will focus on the nature and function of stream and riparian zones as well as the benefits and economic impacts from properly functioning riparian systems.
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of SARA, TWRI, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, AgriLife Extension, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas A&M Forest Service, and the Texas Riparian Association.
Neal said they are able to offer the workshop without cost thanks to program funding provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Continuing Education Units
The workshop offers many types of continuing education units, including three units — two general and one integrated pest management — for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders. Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours from the Texas Forestry Association and six hours from the Society of American Foresters.
It offers seven credits or hours each from the Texas Floodplain Management Association, Certified Crop Advisors and the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying and six hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists. The program may also be used for continuing education units for professional engineers.
Darrell Smith, training specialist for SARA, said participants will receive a certificate of completion and appropriate continuing education unit certificates at the conclusion of the training.
