Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Jennifer Peterson, 979-862-8072, jlpeterson@ag.tamu.edu
LAMPASAS – A Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop will be held Sept. 18 at the Farm Bureau building at 1793 N. U.S. Highway 281 in Lampasas.
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program aims to educate Texas livestock producers and land managers on how to best protect Texas waterways from bacterial contributions associated with livestock production and feral hogs, said Jennifer Peterson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist-water quality in College Station.
The workshop is free to all participants and three continuing education credits will be provided for certified pesticide applicators from the Texas Department of Agriculture. The workshop will run from 10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. and include a catered lunch.
To RSVP, visit http://lshs.tamu.edu/workshops/ or call Peterson at 979-862-8072.
The workshop will focus specifically on issues within the Lampasas River Watershed, which is currently undergoing development of a watershed protection plan, Peterson said. A watershed protection plan is a coordinated framework for implementing prioritized and integrated water quality protection and restoration strategies driven by environmental objectives.
Texas A&M AgriLife Research at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Temple, along with collaborators from AgriLife Extension, are addressing the Lampasas River water quality issues through a coordinated effort to facilitate and encourage public education, awareness and involvement of water quality issues, and to conduct a science-based analysis of the watershed.
Workshop presentations will focus on basic watershed function, water quality and specific best management practices that can be implemented to help minimize bacterial contamination originating from beef cattle, horses and feral hogs, Peterson said.
Currently, about 300 Texas water bodies do not comply with state water quality standards established for E. coli bacteria, Peterson said. By participating in this workshop, livestock producers and landowners can learn about specific conservation practices that can be utilized to help improve and protect the quality of Texas’ water bodies.
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program is funded through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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