Contacts: Nikki Dictson, 979-458-5915, n-dictson@tamu.edu
Rick Maxwell, 903-737-2443, rick.maxwell@ag.tamu.edu
Mike Buttram, 902-278-4069, mikebuttram166@gmail.com
PARIS –The Texas Water Resources Institute’s Texas Riparian and Stream Ecosystem Education Program will host a free workshop from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Dec. 1 in Paris for area residents interested in land and water stewardship in the Sulphur River basin.
The morning session will be at the Love Civic Center, 2025 S. Collegiate Dr. The afternoon session will include a walk and presentations along a creek near the center.
The workshop is co-hosted locally by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service in Lamar County and the Sulphur River Basin Authority.
According to Dr. Mike Buttram of the Sulphur River Basin Authority’s Clean Rivers Program, Texarkana, the Sulphur River basin lies within 11 counties in the northeast corner of Texas, including all or part of Fannin, Hunt, Lamar, Hopkins, Red River, Franklin, Titus, Morris, Bowie, Cass and Delta counties.
Buttram said the river authority encourages conservation and development of the state’s natural resources within the basin of the Sulphur River.
Nikki Dictson, Texas Water Resources Institute AgriLife Extension program specialist in College Station, said the workshop will focus on the nature and function of stream and riparian zones, and the benefits and economic impacts from properly functioning riparian systems.
“Riparian areas – the green vegetated land area adjacent to the bank of a stream, creek, bayou, river or lake – are unique and important ecosystems that provide many benefits including habitat and forage,” Dictson said. “The goal of the workshop is for participants to better understand riparian and watershed processes, the benefits of healthy riparian areas and what resources are available to prevent degradation while improving water quality.”
Workshop presentations will be given by representatives of the Texas Water Resources Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, AgriLife Extension, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas A&M Forest Service and Sulphur River Basin Authority.
All attendees must RSVP by Nov. 25 to Dictson at 979-458-5915 or n-dictson@tamu.edu, or online at http://texasriparian.org/trainings/upcoming-training-locations/.
The program will include a lunchtime presentation. A catered lunch is being sponsored by the river authority and will be available free to participants or they may bring their own lunch.
Dictson said they are able to offer the workshop without cost thanks to program funding 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.
Rick Maxwell, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resource agent for Lamar County, said participants will receive a certificate of completion and appropriate continuing education unit certificates at the conclusion of the training.
The workshop offers many types of continuing education units, including three units — two general and one integrated pest management — for Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide license holders. Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours from the Texas Forestry Association and 6.5 hours from Society of American Foresters. It offers one unit from the Texas Water Resources Institute, seven credits from Texas Floodplain Management Association, seven hours for Certified Crop Advisors, seven hours from Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying, and six hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists. The program may also be used for continuing education units for professional engineers.
The riparian education program is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
For more information, contact Dictson or visit http://texasriparian.org or go to Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation.
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