Conservation Partnerships: Trainings, Practices, and on the Ground - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Conservation Partnerships: Trainings, Practices, and on the Ground Implementation Melissa Parker Texas Parks & Wildlife Department melissa.parker@tpwd.texas.gov

Texas has over 191,000 miles of rivers & streams 95% of Texas is privately owned Partnerships essential to achieve conservation

Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Education Program http://texasriparian.org and http://www.facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation

Nikki Dictson Texas Water Resources Institute Funding provided by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.

Collaborators  Texas Water Resources Institute  Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board  Texas Riparian Association  Texas A&M Forest Service  Texas Parks and Wildlife Department  USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service  Nueces River Authority  Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Ecosystem Science and Management Department  Texas Tech University Llano River Field Station  Tarrant Regional Water District  Upper Trinity Regional Water District  Baylor University  Texas State University, Meadows Center  Many other local partners and sponsors! 5

Education  Deliver 24 riparian education programs in prioritized watersheds:  Watersheds with watershed planning  Impaired water quality  Coordinate 2 statewide riparian conferences:  SW Stream Restoration Conference in San Antonio June 1-3, 2016  Urban Riparian Symposium in February 15-17, 2017 6

Marketing  News Releases through AgriLife Today  Listserv - TEXASRIPARIAN@LISTSERV.TAMU.EDU  Website - http://texasriparian.org  Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/TexasRipari anAssociation  Online Registration – http://naturalresourcestraining.tamu.edu/ schedule/

Online Modules, Videos, and Resources

Continuing Education Units  TX Department of Ag. Pesticide Applicators Lic.- 3 CEUs  TX Water Res. Institute – 1 hour  TX Nutrient Mgmt. Planning Specialists – up to 6 hrs.  TX Forestry Assoc. – up to 6 hrs  Soc. of American Foresters – up to 5.5 hrs.  TX Floodplain Mgmt. Association – 7 CECs  Certified Crop Advisor- 7 CEUs (Nutrient Mgmt: 1, Soil & Water: 1.5, IPM: 1.5, Crop Mgmt: 2.5, Manure Mgmt: 0.5)  TX Board of Professional Land Surveying – 7 hours  TX Board of Architectural Examiners “Acceptable for HSW”  May be used for CEUs for Professional Engineers  Some local Master Naturalist and Master Gardener Chapters accept this training towards needed hours.

Program Evaluation & Participation  Pre/post-test to evaluate knowledge gained during the program.  14% increase between pre and post-test scores and knowledge gained overall (scores 78, 91)  1634 attendees with over 695,000 acres owned or managed.

Percent of Participants that plan to adopt each of the Conservation Practices % Plan to Adopt % Undecided % Will not Adopt Riparian Herbaceous 83% 16% 1% Buffers Riparian Forest Buffers 78% 19% 3% Prescribed Grazing 70% 21% 9% Rotational Grazing 74% 18% 8% Manage Feral Hogs 80% 16% 4% Rangeland Planting of 74% 22% 4% Vegetative Cover Manage to Reduce Bare 92% 7% 1% Ground Monitor Stream Sites 70% 24% 6% through Photos

Post Workshop Evaluations  78% of respondents stated that they had adopted the BMPs discussed  30% estimated they have benefited over $1,000-$10,000+  30% estimated between $100-$500 of economic benefits

Distribution map courtesy of Dr. Timothy Bonner, Texas State University Guadalupe Bass Restoration Initiative  Public-private partnership  Leverages Sportfish Restoration Funds with private and other funds  Deliver conservation actions that benefit Hill Country Rivers Map courtesy Tim Bonner, Texas State University

Guadalupe Bass Restoration Initiative Goals:  Provide technical guidance  Implement on the ground restoration projects:  Riparian areas  Water quality & quantity  Watershed connectivity  Sediment balance  Instream habitat  Invasive species Llano River Watershed Blanco River

Blanco Watershed – Encourage voluntary collaboration and Post Flood partnerships to reduce stressors affecting overall health of the Blanco River watershed

Blanco River Watershed Restoration  Historic flood in May 2015 brought intense public interest in riparian restoration  River crested at more than 40 feet above its banks  Estimated 12,000 riparian trees uprooted

Blanco River Watershed Restoration Seven riparian restoration workshops in the watershed with approximately 450 participants

Blanco River Watershed Restoration  15,000 riparian sedges and grasses distributed to stabilize flood damaged river banks  Technical guidance site visits for riparian BMP’s provided to over 50 landowners

River Mountain Ranch Community Park April 2016 September 2016

Riparian Enhancement

Blanco River Restoration Design Guidelines Developed in partnership with Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center  Encourage land mgmt. practices that accommodate recreational  uses while also providing ecological functions http://tpwd.texas.gov/publications/nonpwdpubs/media/blanco_river_design_guidelines_ 2016.pd f

Conservation Demonstration Sites

Blanco River Watershed Restoration Effort to manage Arundo donax . The plant was widely dispersed by the flood events and is rapidly colonizing new areas

 67 landowners in 2015  8 acres treated

Llano River Watershed Restoration

Llano River Watershed Restoration Technical Guidance Restoration Projects

Llano River Watershed Restoration Fire in 2011 brought about renewed interest in restoration and implementation of Best Management Practices

Llano River Watershed Restoration Workshops and Technical Guidance

Llano River Watershed Restoration Restoration Measures:  Trencheras  Seeded Straw Mats

Llano River Watershed Restoration Vegetation Restoration Plantings  Exclosures  Reseeding  Invasive Species  Fall 2011 Summer 2013

Llano River Watershed Restoration Conservation Projects and Demonstration Areas Texas Tech University Llano River Field Station South Llano River State Park

Llano River Watershed Restoration Upland Restoration

Llano River Watershed Restoration Riparian and Spring Restoration Plantings for diversity and recruitment  Resee d ing  Fencing  Alternative Water  Invasive Species – riparian and upland 

Llano River Watershed Restoration Project Successes

Melissa Parker Texas Parks & Wildlife Department 512/754-6844, x235 melissa.parker@tpwd.texas.gov