From Water to Wildlife in the LRGV

Part 1: Identifying Water Resources in the Lower Rio Grande Valley What is “The Valley”?

The “Lower Rio Grande Valley” is in the most southern part of Texas, made up of four counties, three of which border Mexico, at the “Rio Grande”.

. The 4 counties of the LRGV are considered to be one of the ecologically most biodiverse regions of the United States. The Valley sits at an intersection of four ecological regions.

Temperate

Desert Coastal

Tropical DESERT coming in from the WEST COASTAL coming in from the EAST SUBTROPICAL coming in from the SOUTH TEMPERATE GRASSLAND

coming in from the NORTH The Rio Grande river is the main source of water for the Valley.

• It starts in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado, and is fed by a series of tributaries: the Pecos river in West Texas and the Rio Conchos, Rio Salado, and Rio San Juan in Mexico. • It flows for about 1900 miles. Here’s what it looks like where it starts in Colorado… Where it enters Texas… And when it passes through our “Valley”. Here’s what it looks like where it ends at “Boca Chica”… Boca Chica, the name of the river mouth where the Rio Grande empties into the Gulf of Mexico. But it didn’t always look like that! Historically, the river took a different path.

This ancient path is now known as the Arroyo Colorado (Arroyo means “stream” in Spanish). Today, the Arroyo Colorado only gets water from rainwater runoff and treated wastewater from cities. The Arroyo Colorado empties into the Laguna Madre, known locally as “the Bay”. (Have you ever crossed the bridge to South Padre Island? That bridge crosses the Laguna Madre.) This is what it probably looked like in the “Valley” millions of years ago when the river followed the current path of the Arroyo Colorado, creating the Delta that we are today. Ours is one of only about 5 rivers in the world that actually sits higher than the land that surrounds it.

That is why we need a “floodway” to control its waters. Which means….. We are not a valley!

We are an “alluvial floodplain”. So why do we call ourselves the “Rio Grande Valley”? From Spanish colonization in the mid 1700s up until the late 1800s, the RGV was mostly ranchland. Large numbers of Anglos immigrated to the region in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Those settlers were large scale farmers who, attempting to capitalize on undeveloped land, utilized the name “Magic Valley” to attract settlers and appeal to investors.

New settlers might not have moved here if they had been invited to come see the Rio Grande FLOODPLAIN! With the introduction of irrigation to the area, people began farming on our nutrient-rich soils near the river in the early 1900s. But sometimes…it would not rain and the river would run dry. So in 1954, we completed Falcon Dam to store water in case there was a drought.

The stored water is called a “reservoir”. Today we know this as Falcon Lake. Near every farming community, new towns would spring up. With railroads and highways, our cities grew.

Rio Grande City McAllen Edinburg Weslaco Harlingen Brownsville As the Valley’s population grew, it required more and more WATER! SO much water, that in 2013, when there was a drought, we had to use up our “reserve” water in Falcon Lake.

It went from full, to having only 10% of its water left. Here are the lake’s levels in 2016-2017 According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), we are at risk of a severe drought for the next several years.

At the same time, we are one of the fastest growing populations in the United States. Where will our water come from in the future?

How can we “conserve” and use less? Part 2: Exploring our Valley’s waterways using Google Earth Download and Launch “Google Earth Pro” from your web browser This is the satellite image map you will be working with 1. The upper navigation with a symbol of an eye in the center allows you to tilt in a 3D manner and look around from “bird’s eye view” (up, down, left, right) a. Click the “N” button (North) to trigger automatic orientation in North direction b. Rotate the “N” button to get a 360 degree view of your map

2. The lower navigation with a hand symbol in the center allows you to move around (forward, backward, side to side)

3. The symbol of a person allows you to drag it with a mouse and place it anywhere on the map to launch “street view”, which gives you a ground level perspective (Must be zoomed in closer to earth surface for this symbol to appear).

4. The zoom column allows you to zoom in (+) and out (-) a. You can also do so with your mouse or trackpad 5. Above the center image of the globe is the Toolbar a. You will see various symbols/icons for different features that can be utilized in the toolbar 6. On the upper left is “Places”: “My Places” and “Temporary Places” a. This is where your file will appear while creating placemarks, adding, or editing content. 7. On the lower left is “Layers” a. You can explore checking and unchecking certain layers to see their differences but only the following four are recommended for this lesson: i. “The new Google Earth” a. This will link you to Google Chrome for a more enhanced way of viewing but you cannot create a tour with it ii. “Borders and Labels” a. This will help you see where you are iii. “3D Buildings” a. This will enable you to see 3D structures when you zoom in close enough iv. “Terrain” a. This will enable you to see slight dimensionality in the topography (elevation) 8. Locate the search bar in the upper left corner and type in “Falcon Dam Texas” a. Press Search to launch animation b. Zoom out to see a broader image that includes the reservoir c. Use upper navigation (tilt) to look around d. Rotate the “N” button to get a 360 degree view of the reservoir i. Notice the Rio Grande river along the yellow line (international boundary) 9. In the search bar, type in “Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge” a. Press Search to launch animation b. Zoom out to see a broader image that includes the river c. Use upper navigation (tilt) to look around d. Rotate the “N” button to get a 360 degree view of the refuge i. Notice the Rio Grande river along the yellow line (international boundary) 10. In the search bar, type in “Bahia Grande” a. Press Search to launch animation b. Zoom in or out for perspective c. Use upper navigation (tilt) to look around d. Rotate the “N” button to get a 360 degree view of the wetland i. Notice the Brownsville Shipping Channel (waterway in a straight line south of wetland) 11. Without using the search bar, find where the Rio Grande meets the Gulf of Mexico a. Zoom in or out for perspective b. Use upper navigation (tilt) to look around c. Rotate the “N” button to get a 360 degree view of the wetland i. Notice the wetlands on both the Mexican and American sides of the river 12. For fun, type your address into the search bar to see where you live a. Press Search to launch animation b. Zoom in closer c. Use upper navigation (tilt) to look around d. Rotate the “N” button to get a 360 degree view of your home vicinity i. Do you notice any waterways nearby?