Writer: Kay Ledbetter, 806-677-5608, skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu
Contact: Jennifer Peterson, 979-862-8072, jlpeterson@ag.tamu.edu
SEGUIN – A Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop is planned for June 5 at the Texas Agricultural Education and Heritage Center, also known as the Big Red Barn, 390 Cordova Road, Seguin.
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program aims to educate Texas livestock producers and land managers on how to best protect Texas waterways from bacterial contamination associated with livestock production and feral hogs, said Jennifer Peterson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist, College Station.
The workshop will begin at 10 a.m. and end by 3 p.m. A catered lunch will be provided.
The free event is sponsored by the Texas Agricultural Education and Heritage Center and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture general continuing education credits will be provided for certified pesticide applicators.
To RSVP for the workshop, go to http://lshs.tamu.edu/workshops/ or call Peterson at 979-862-8072.
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 specific conservation practices that can help improve and protect the quality of Texas water bodies.
The workshop will focus specifically on issues within the Geronimo and Alligator creeks watershed, which recently completed 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.
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, she said.
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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