River Erosion And Vegetation Workshops Planned For Blanco And Wimberley

The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University will offer three recovery workshops on June 10, 11 and 12 to assist Central Texas communities affected by the Memorial weekend floods.

“We will do everything possible to help the affected families and communities recover from this event,” said Meredith Miller, head of The Meadows Center’s watershed services team.

Details for the workshops are:

• Wednesday, June 10 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. at the Old Blanco Courthouse in Blanco
• Thursday, June 11 from 5-7 p.m. at Turkey Hollow Ranch in Burnett Ranches subdivision, Wimberley (RSVP to rranft@tnc.org for directions)
• Friday, June 12, 9-11 a.m. workshop (8 a.m. breakfast) at the Wimberley Community Center in Wimberley

The recovery workshops are designed to teach property owners who have suffered from erosion, flooded yards, uprooted or damaged trees, and deposition of river sediment how to deal with the damage in an environmentally-sensitive area. Each workshop will include a one-hour discussion about the dos and don’ts of riparian recovery, followed by a one-hour field trip.

“What is most important for damaged creek and river channels and the riparian area is to re-establish strong stabilizing vegetation,” retired Natural Resource Conservation Service biologist Steve Nelle said. “Be sure that any debris removal is done with a careful eye to protecting and restoring stability in riparian areas.”

Speakers consist of representatives from Texas Forest Service and Nelle. Partners for the workshop series include the Nature Conservancy, the Hill Country Alliance, the Texas Forest Service, Hays County Master Naturalists and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment is also updating a disaster recovery resources page (www.meadowscenter.txstate.edu/Disaster-Recovery-Resources.html) on a daily basis that provides information for homeowners, notices of community meetings and similar helpful information. Additional information is also available on the Cypress Creek website (http://cypresscreekproject.net/) and San Marcos Watershed Initiative website (http://smwatershedinitiative.org/).

For more information, contact Jeffrey Thornton at (512) 245-7551 or via email at jat191@txstate.edu.

About The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment

The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment was named following a generous gift from The Meadows Foundation in August 2012. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment is dedicated to environmental research, stewardship, education and service. It is led by renowned conservationist Andrew Sansom.