Sheffield and Coyanosa events to highlight plan’s current activities
Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Gary Bryant, 432-336-8585, glbryant@ag.tamu.edu

FORT STOCKTON – The Texas AgriLife Extension Service will conduct two free field days to highlight ongoing Pecos River Watershed Protection Planimplementation activities at 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on April 23 and 24 near Sheffield and Coyanosa, respectively.

 

Gary Bryant, AgriLife Extension Pecos River watershed coordinator at Fort Stockton, said the April 23 field day will begin at the Fort Lancaster State Historical Site and later move to the Live Oak Ranch east of Sheffield in the lower portion of the watershed. The April 24 event will be on the Santa Rosa Ranch six miles east of the Coyanosa Gin in the watershed’s upper portion.

Bryant said both days will have similar content, but discussions may vary due to the differences between the upper and lower parts of the watershed.

“During the field days, landowners will have an opportunity to see what some of their neighbors have been implementing on their properties, using the programs that support the watershed protection plan,” Bryant said.

Topics will include discussions on development of a model to predict dissolved oxygen in the river, updates on biological and chemical saltcedar controls, prescribed burning efforts and an overview of the plan’s goals and objectives.

Texas Forest Service personnel will also speak on drought and tree mortality at both sites.

Lunch is being provided by the AgriLife Extension office in Crockett County and the Sandhills Soil and Water Conservation District. During lunch, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel will talk about the health of the river from an aquatic habitat and fish community perspective at the first field day and National Weather Service personnel will cover what a “red flag” warning for fire danger means at the next day’s lunch break.

Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – one integrated pest management and one general – will be available at each site.

RSVP is required for the lunch count. To RSVP and for more information contact Bryant at 432-336-8585, glbryant@ag.tamu.edu by April 18.

A map to the field day locations and information on the project can be found on the project website at http://pecosbasin.tamu.edu/ .

Funding and support for the development and implementation of the Pecos River Watershed Protection Plan is 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. The projects are managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, a unit of Texas AgriLife Research, the AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University, the Upper Pecos Soil and Water Conservation District and Crockett Soil and Water Conservation District.

-30-