October 17, 2024

8:00AM – 4:30PM

Judge Scott Bailey Event Center

102 N Lamar St Eastland, TX 76448

RSVP by October 10th.

To RSVP, please visit https://tamu.estore.flywire.com/products/eastland24 or contact Alexander Neal at 979-314-2351 or Alexander.Neal@ag.tamu.edu.

Continuing Education Units available: Texas Department of Agriculture Pesticide Applicators License – 3 CEUs; Certified Crop Advisor – 7 CEUs; Texas Nutrient Management Planning Specialists – 6 hours; Texas Floodplain Management Association – 7 CECs; International Society of Arboriculture – 8.25 CEUs (Certified Arborist: 2.75, Municipal Specialist: 2.75, BCMA – Science: 0.75, BCMA – Practice: 2); Texas Forestry Association – 6 hours; Society of American Foresters – 6.5 CFEs (6 Cat. 2 and 0.5 Cat. 1); Texas Board of Architectural Examiners “Acceptable for HSW credit”; and may also be used for CEUs for Professional Engineers.

The workshop will include both indoor classroom and outdoor presentations by multiple natural resource agency experts and an outdoor field portion on the river to discover how it functions and the role of riparian vegetation in properly functioning systems. RSVP by October 10, 2024 at the link above or by contacting Neal. A catered lunch will be available for $15. Lunch can be paid for in advance by Credit Card or in cash onsite during the event. There will also be coffee, crackers and cookie snacks. The workshop is being co-hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Riparian Association, and the Texas Water Resources Institute.

Agenda:

8:00 Meeting Registration
8:15 Welcome & Introductions
8:30 Program Overview, Watershed Management and Water Quality
– Alexander Neal, Texas Water Resources Institute
9:20 How Creeks Function & Bear Creek Example
– Ricky Linex, Natural Resources Conservation Service, USDA retired
10:20 Break
10:35 Riparian Vegetation
– Ryan McGillicuddy, Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
11:30 Management Practices, Local Resources and Photo Monitoring of Streams
– Alexander Neal, Texas Water Resources Institute
12:00 Catered Lunch
12:50 Role of Forests and Trees in Watershed Protection
– TBD, Texas A&M Forest Service
1:30 Wild Pig Management
– TBD, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute
2:10 Trip to the North Fork Leon River (Led by NRCS and TPWD)
– Stream Walk
– NRCS Programs Overview: TBD, Natural Resources Conservation Service
4:30 Wrap up and Head for Home!

Riparian Agenda Eastland 2024

Riparian Flyer Eastland 2024

Press Release:

Riparian and stream ecosystem program workshop for Leon River watershed set for October 17

Eastland – The Texas Water Resources Institute, or TWRI, will host a free Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Education Program from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. October 17 in Eastland for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Leon River Watershed.

The morning session will be at the Judge Scott Bailey Event Center on 102 North Lamar Street. The afternoon session will include a walk and presentations along the North Fork of the Leon River.

“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, College Station. “Not only are water quality and quantity directly benefitted by the proper management, protection and restoration of these critical areas, but also enhanced are the soundness of stream banks, fish communities and aquatic habitats, just to name a few.”

The workshop is co-hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Riparian Association, and TWRI.

The Leon River Watershed above Lake Leon is the focus of water quality improvement efforts by stakeholders. “Stakeholders recognize successful water quality improvement requires implementing a variety of management strategies,” said TJ Cummings, County Extension Agent at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension office in Eastland County. “The riparian and stream workshop is an educational event supporting this effort.”

Neal said 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.

“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.”

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.

All attendees must RSVP by October 10, 2024, online through the marketplace or by email to Alexander.Neal@ag.tamu.edu. The program will include a lunchtime presentation, so a catered lunch is being offered for $15 or you may select to bring your own lunch. This fee also helps cover the coffee, crackers, and cookie snack breaks.

Neal said they are able to offer the workshop without cost 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.

Ricky Linex, wildlife biologist retired from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, said participants will receive a certificate of completion and appropriate continuing education unit certificates at the conclusion of the training.

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, six and a half hours from the Society of American Foresters, and eight hours from the International Society of Arboriculture. It offers seven credits from Texas Floodplain Management Association, seven hours for Certified Crop Advisors, and 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 the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.

For more information, contact Neal or visit http://texasriparian.org or go to Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation.