A free Lone Star Healthy Streams workshop focusing on a variety of best management practices will be held on May 16 in Angleton.
The workshop is offered as a joint effort by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service; Houston Galveston Area Council, HGAC; Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute; and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.
The event will be held from 1-5 p.m. in the auditorium at the AgriLife Extension office in Brazoria County, 21017 County Road 171. To RSVP, visit https://tx.ag/LSHSAngleton. Light refreshments will be provided by the AgriLife Extension office.
Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education credits are available in the integrated pest management category for pesticide applicators
Program focus
The workshop will focus on the Chocolate Bayou, Mustang Bayou, Bastrop Bayou and Oyster Creek watersheds. Topics will include watershed function, water quality and voluntary best management practices for grazing livestock, feral hogs and onsite sewage facilities to minimize bacterial contamination. Pasture weed management will also be discussed.
Technical and financial opportunities will be discussed by representatives of the Houston Galveston Area Council, Texas Grazing Land Coalition and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“The goal of the Lone Star Healthy Streams program is to protect Texas waterways from bacterial contamination originating from livestock, wildlife and invasive species that may pose a serious health risk to Texans,” said Leanne Wiley, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Lone Star Healthy Streams coordinator, Bryan-College Station. “The aim is to increase awareness of non-point source pollution, provide education materials to Texas producers and landowners, and encourage implementation.”
Protecting the County’s Watersheds
The Houston-Galveston Area Council and Texas A&M AgriLife advocate for best management practices that will have a positive impact on Brazoria County watersheds. Efforts put forth by stakeholders are part of the voluntary implementation that seeks the reduction of non-point source pollution and the removal of water quality impairments in the county.
Residents and agriculture producers are encouraged to adopt the practices discussed at this workshop and others presented in watershed-based plans developed or in development for the county. More information about these efforts can be found at San Jacinto-Brazos Coastal Basin Bacteria Reduction Project | Houston-Galveston Area Council and Galveston Bay Coalition of Watersheds – Partnering for Healthy watersheds..
Funding for this effort is provided through a Clean Water Act Section 319(h) nonpoint source grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For more information on the workshop, contact Wiley at 979-321-5950 or leanne.wiley@ag.tamu.edu; Steven Johnston, principal planner for HGAC, at 832-681-2579 or Steven.Johnston@h-gac.com; or Jessica Chase, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Brazoria County, at 979-864-1558 or brazoria-tx@tamu.edu.
Courtesy of Texas A&M AgriLife
