Writer: Robert Burns, 903-834-6191, rd-burns@tamu.edu
HAMILTON — The Lampasas River Watershed Partnership will host a “Proper Functioning Condition Riparian Workshop” May 16 at the Texas Game Warden Training Center, 4363 Farm-to-Market Road 1047, in Hamilton.
Registration starts at 8 a.m., and the program is free and open to the public. Workshop programming begins at 8:30 a.m., ends at 3:30, and consists of classroom and field instruction along the Lampasas River, said Lisa Prcin, a research associate with Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Temple.
A boxed sandwich lunch is sponsored by the Hamilton-Coryell Soil and Water Conservation District.
Those planning to attend should contact Prcin at 254-774-6008 or lprcin@brc.tamus.edu. The workshop’s full agenda and a map to the site are available at http://www.lampasasriver.org.
“The workshop will deal with assessing riparian and wetland conditions, and will offer three continuing education units for holders of private pesticide applicator licenses,” she said.
The course will be conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel and hosted by the Lampasas River Watershed Partnership and AgriLife Research, she said.
“Be prepared for the possibility of chiggers and/or ticks,” said Ricky Linex, USDA-NRCS wildlife biologist, Weatherford, and one of the course instructors. “Wear long pants, sturdy shoes, sunscreen and a hat. We will be walking adjacent to and in the creek with some rough ground to cross. A walking stick will come in handy for navigating the terrain.”
Participants will learn the basic interaction of hydrology, erosion and vegetation for Central Texas creeks and rivers, Prcin said.
“Among topics to be covered are channels, floodplains, water table, vegetation, base flow, flood flow, sediment and how these things in combination are what make up the riparian area,” she said.
The Lampasas River Watershed Partnership is a collaborative effort by local stakeholders, AgriLife Research, and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.
Funding and support for the Lampasas Watershed Protection Plan is provided through a Clean Water Act §319(h) nonpoint source grant from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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