Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop set August 30th in Industry
A Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop will be held on August 30th at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church 15994 Hwy 159 W. Industry. This event is open to the general public with a focus on the Mill Creek Watershed, including Washington and Austin Counties.
The conference is offered as a joint effort by the Mill Creek Watershed Partnership, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB).
The free workshop will run from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with light refreshments provided by Lindemann Store. Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education credits for pesticide applicators are available in the Integrated Pest Management.
RSVP to the Austin County AgriLife events page at https://austin.agrilife.org/event-registrations/
Program focus
This workshop will focus on the Mill Creek Watershed. Topics covered will include basic watershed function, water quality, and voluntary best-management practices for grazing livestock, backyard poultry and feral hogs to minimize bacterial contamination. In addition, technical and financial opportunities will be discussed.
“The goal of the Lone Star Healthy Streams program is to protect Texas waterways from bacterial contamination originating from livestock, wildlife, and invasive species that may pose a serious health risk to Texans,” said Leanne Wiley, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Lone Star Healthy Streams coordinator, Bryan-College Station. “The aim is to increase awareness of non-point source pollution, provide education materials to Texas producers and landowners, and encourage implementation.”
Protecting the Watershed
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and TSSWCB advocate for best management practices that will have a positive impact on the Mill Creek Watershed. In addition to the sessions on livestock and poultry management, Annalee Epps, the watershed coordinator, will present an update on the Mill Creek Watershed Protection Plan. It will include a brief background on the project, as well as current water quality monitoring data.
Funding for this effort is provided through a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) nonpoint source grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on the workshop, contact Wiley at 979-321-5950 or leanne.wiley@ag.tamu.edu; or Annalee Epps, Watershed Coordinator, at 979-845-2862 or annalee.epps@ag.tamu.edu or Stacie Villarreal AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent, Austin County, at 979-865-2072 or stacie.villarreal@ag.tamu.edu