TWS Central Texas February 2018 newsletter

Año de Publicación

2025

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Long-term care of private land is critically important to Texas. Sound management practices increase land productivity and enhance ecosystem services provided by forests. These critical benefits include clean air and water, improved wildlife habitat, and additional opportunities for quality outdoor recreation. Texas A&M Forest Service (TFS) promotes land stewardship to landowners all over Texas—from the Pineywoods of East Texas to the West Texas Panhandle. Professional assistance is tailored to your individual needs. A written plan for your property is the foundation of good land stewardship. TFS foresters are available to help you develop a written 10-year course of action, outlining step-by-step measures that will enable you to meet your goals and objectives for your property. A TFS forester will meet with you on your property to discuss your land objectives and how to meet those objectives. A multi-purpose Stewardship Plan addresses numerous resource elements including timber, water, wildlife, forest health, and more. Natural resources in the Central Texas region are threatened by poor land management, fire exclusion, invasive species, oak wilt, and rapid population growth. As a Texas landowner, you have the ability to conserve Central Texas trees and natural resources for future generations. TFS is available to help address your interests in trees, wildlife, recreation, and water, as well as concerns about drought, wildfire, forest health, and diseases such as oak wilt. Call your local TFS office or a private consulting forester for information on obtaining a Stewardship Plan for managing your property. Successful implementation of a written Stewardship Plan can result in being nominated and recognized as good stewards of the land with the Certified Forest Steward award. This award is presented to any Texas landowner that owns at least 10 acres, has a written Stewardship plan, and implements aspects of that plan while using Best Management practices that protect soil and water. Recipients receive a metal sign for their property and a certificate signed by the State Forester. A major tributary of the San Marcos River, the 397 square mile Plum Creek watershed lies within the larger Guadalupe River Basin. Established by the Texas Legislature, the GuadalupeBlanco River Authority (GBRA) was first created in 1933 under Section 59, Article 16 of the Constitution of Texas as a water conservation and reclamation district and a public corporation called the Guadalupe River Authority. In 1935, it was reauthorized by an act of the Texas Legislature as the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority. GBRA provides stewardship for the water resources in its ten-county statutory district, which begins near the headwaters of the Guadalupe and Blanco Rivers, ends at San Antonio Bay, and includes Kendall, Comal, Hays, Caldwell, Guadalupe, Gonzales, DeWitt, Victoria, Calhoun, and Refugio counties. The mission of GBRA is to support responsible watershed protection and stewardship, provide quality operational service, and promote conservation and educational opportunities in order to enhance quality of life for those they serve. GBRA is governed by a board of nine directors appointed by the Governor and subject to confirmation by the Texas Senate. Prior to each regular monthly meeting, board committees meet to recommend and review policies, programs, and actions for consideration. The General Manager and staff conduct management and administrative duties in accordance with policies established by the board. The following are just some of the departments housed in GBRA’s General Division office, located in Seguin: Operations and Water Quality directs water resource management, recreation and parks, and utilities operations in all 10 counties of GBRA’s district; and is responsible for water quality and environmental related matters, providing technical assistance to GBRA’s water and wastewater treatment facilities. Resource Policy and Stewardship creates partnerships to support community and economic development, and encourages stewardship of water resources and environmental protection. Project Engineering and Development conducts hydrology and flow monitoring studies; assists with water and wastewater plant design services; monitors basin rainfall conditions, including surface run-off for streams, rivers, lakes, and groundwater in the Guadalupe River Basin; provides assistance to emergency management coordinators and local officials during severe weather events; and works with homeowner and land associations to enhance current lake management and flood response programs. Plum Creek Conservation District (PCCD) was formed in 1957 by the Texas Legislature through the enactment of SB 289 for the purpose of flood control. During the 1960s and 1970s, twenty-eight flood control structures were built on the tributaries of Plum Creek in Hays and Caldwell counties by the Soil Conservation Service (now Natural Resources Conservation Service). The structures, which are monitored, operated, and maintained by the District, catch and store flood waters during normal and extreme rain events, which are then released downstream at an engineered rate. On January 1st, 1989, Plum Creek Conservation District’s enabling legislation was amended to add groundwater responsibilities, as affirmed by District voters May 1993. The PCCD mission for groundwater management is to conserve and preserve groundwater availability and protect permitted and exempt groundwater users by gathering information about groundwater conditions and uses within the District; obtaining information from surrounding Groundwater Districts to assist in understanding groundwater availability within Plum Creek’s area; using that information to adopt rules consistent with state law; and by then enforcing these Rules. Their website is http://pccd.org. What is a Watershed? A watershed is the area of land that drains into a specific water body; an area of land that water flows across, through, or under on its way to a stream, river, lake, or ocean. Watersheds in the Guadalupe River Basin can have rocky hills or be on flat prairies. They can be made up of farmland, ranchlands, small communities, and big cities. The Plum Creek Watershed is one of ten smaller watersheds (sub-watersheds) that make up the Guadalupe River Basin. Big or small, urban, suburban, or rural, we should all understand our connection to watersheds and strive to keep them healthy. For more information on watersheds, go to: http://texasaquaticscience.org/watershedaquatic-science-texas. Helpful Online Tool for Landowners A new online tool called “My Land Management Connector” has been added to the Texas Forest Information Portal, a web-based application. “My Land Management Connector” is an application that connects landowners and land management service providers. Landowners can find land management service providers in their area and check their credentials. Landowners can also send service requests to these service providers by entering their land management service needs into the mapping application. Service providers can list their company and the services they provide in a specified area. Companies can view land management services that need to be completed in their service area. Through the application, service providers can send a request to landowners to provide the land management services they need. Go to http://texasforestinfo.tamu.edu and click on “My Land Management Connector” or one of the many other applications that could help you in planning the management of your land. Don’t Be Clueless . . . . . about your watershed! Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority partners with the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB), Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Plum Creek Watershed Partnership, and others, to bring you a great publication that “clues you in” on many aspects of the water resources in your area. Learn facts about watersheds; how your actions can affect water quality and quantity; how you can be a good watershed steward; what pollutants can get into the waterways; and more. For instance, both WHAT you put on your yard and HOW you apply it can affect the environment around you. Improperly used, stored, or disposed household hazardous wastes can be caught up in the runoff during a rain event and become a part of the stream and river. Written in a colorful and interesting format, this publication also lists important resources within the Plum Creek watershed where you can get even more information. You can find the document online at http://gbra.org/documents/plumcreek/WatershedAwareness.pdf