CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas Water Resources Institute’s Urban Riparian and Stream Restoration Program will host a workshop from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. April 17 in Corpus Christi for professionals interested in conducting stream restoration projects around the area.
Clare Entwistle, Texas Water Resources Institute research associate, conducts a cross-sectional stream survey as part of the field portion of the workshop. (Texas Water Resources Institute photo by Ed Rhodes)
The morning session will be at the South Texas Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, 8545 S. Staples St. The afternoon session will be outdoors along Oso Creek, where participants will learn stream surveying techniques.
Early registration is encouraged as the workshop is limited to 40 people. The $100 cost includes all training materials, lunch and a certificate of completion at the end of the course.
Attendees must register by April 14 to Clare Entwistle, research associate at the institute’s San Antonio office, at 210-277-0292 ext. 205 or clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu, or online at http://bit.ly/2HVNBuD .
Dr. Fouad Jaber, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist in Dallas, said riparian and stream degradation is a major threat to water quality, in-stream habitat, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic species and overall stream health.
“Proper management, protection and restoration of these riparian areas will improve water quality, lower in-stream temperatures, improve aquatic habitat and ultimately improve macrobenthos and fish community integrity,” he said.
Jaber said the goal of the workshop is for participants to better understand urban stream functions and impact of development on urban streams.
“Attendees will also learn to recognize healthy versus degraded stream systems, assess and classify a stream using the Bank Erosion Hazard Index and comprehend the differences between natural and traditional restoration techniques,” he said.
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of the Texas Water Resources Institute, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the Nueces River Authority.
Entwistle said the institute is able to offer the workshop at a reduced cost thanks to program funding provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The workshop offers many types of continuing education units and more credits are in the process of being added. Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours from the Society of American Foresters. It offers one unit from the Texas Water Resources Institute, 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.
Participants should check with their local Master Naturalist and Master Gardener chapters to see if the workshop is approved for their area
For more information, contact Entwistle, visit http://texasriparian.org or go to https://www.facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation.
The urban riparian stream education program is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
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Contacts: Clare Entwistle, 210-277-0292 x205, clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu
Dr. Fouad Jaber, 972-952-9672, Fouad.Jaber@ag.tamu.edu
This article was originally published in AgriLife Today