The Texas Watershed Steward Program A WATER RESOURCE TRAINING CURRICULUM Nikki Dictson, Jennifer Peterson, Mark McFarland, Ward Ling, Diane Boellstorff, and Lisa Kordos Texas AgriLife Extension Service Texas Watershed Coordinator Roundtable January 25, 2011 TWS PROGRAM GOALS 1. Increase citizen awareness, understanding, and knowledge of the nature and function of watersheds, potential impairments, and watershed protection strategies. 2. Empower and inspire individuals to take leadership roles involving community water issues. 3. Enhance stakeholder involvement in local watershed protection planning initiatives (WPP/TMDL). TWS EDUCATIONAL TRAINING • 1-day training (8 hours) – Reach a broader audience – Stimulate initial interest and involvement • Interactive ‘stations’ – Enviroscape – NPS containers – Rainfall simulator – WQ monitoring equipment – Macroinvertebrate ID – Google Earth… INCENTIVES FOR PARTICIPATION • FREE (for now, anyways) • Educational credits: – 7 AICP CM hours (planners) – 7 TBPE CPEs (engineers) – 7 CCA CEUs (soil & water management) – 7 SBEC CPEs (teachers) – 3 TFMA (floodplain mgr) – 3 TDA CEUs (general) • Lots of free stuff… 26 completed workshops 12 planned through 2011 UPCOMING TWS WORKSHOPS Watershed Type Date City County Cibolo Creek, Lower Other 1/27/2011 Panna Maria Karnes Adams/Cow Bayous TMDL 3/24/2011 Orange Orange Carters/Burton Creek TMDL 3/29/2011 College Station Brazos San Antonio Bay Other April 2011 Victoria Victoria Urban Watersheds in City of Temple Other May 2011 Temple Bell Lower Nueces River WPP June 2011 Bluntzer Nueces Leona River Other July 2011 Uvalde Uvalde August Pecos River 1 WPP 2011 Pecos Reeves August Pecos River 2 WPP 2011 Sheffield Pecos September Concho River WPP 2011 San Angelo Tom Green October Cedar Bayou WPP 2011 Baytown Harris Urban Watersheds in City of Dallas Other Dallas Dallas Future Watersheds • Colorado River • Leon River 2 • Dickinson Bayou • Richland-Chambers • Lower San Antonio River Reservoir • Onion Creek/Barton Springs • Colorado River Watch • Armand Bayou Network • Atascosa River • Urban Watersheds in City of San Antonio • Chocolate Bayou • Lampasas River 2 • Copano Bay & Mission & Aransas Rivers • Upper San Marcos River • Double Bayou • Oso Creek/Bay • Highland Bayou ADDITIONAL TOOLS AND MATERIALS • Online version of TWS is live – Available at http://tws.tamu.edu/online-course THE TEXAS WATERSHED STEWARD PROGRAM http://tws.tamu.edu Nikki Dictson Texas AgriLife Extension Service Tel: 979-575-4424 [email protected].