Lone Star Healthy Streams Work Plan
Download Lone Star Healthy Streams work plan
Problem/Need Statement
According to the DRAFT 2004 Water Quality Inventory and 303(d) List, 306 waterbodies are impaired in Texas with a total of 419 impairments. Of these, approximately half of the impairments are the result of excessive bacteria.
Bacterial source tracking work completed in a number of these waterbodies (e.g. Peach Creek and Leon River) has identified a noticeable contribution from grazing cattle to the bacteria loading of these streams. Grazing lands, which represent the dominant land use in the majority of watersheds in Texas, have received little attention until now regarding the effect of grazing livestock on water quality. Thus, implementation of watershed management principles and practices on grazing lands will be critical to the success of water resource protection efforts in the state in years to come.
Education of landowners and voluntary adoption of BMPs could substantially reduce bacterial contamination of streams and waterbodies as well as reduce the likelihood of increased regulatory oversight of production practices and systems. The TSSWCB, local SWCDs and the USDA-NRCS support producers through technical assistance and cost-share programs that enable the implementation of BMPs. For such measures to be effective, however, they must be properly implemented and managed to ensure sustainability. In addition, these practices must be compatible with the overall management system and result in limited additional economic burden to agricultural producers.
Extension education programs are designed to target specific audiences and to deliver current, unbiased, science-based information and technology. The primary goal of these programs is to increase overall production unit profitability in a sustainable manner. Recently, the dominant environmental education components of these educational programs have been focused on supporting the Texas Department of Agriculture Pesticide Applicator Certification Program. Private pesticide applicator re-certification requires a licensed individual to obtain 15 hours of continuing education units (CEUs) every 5 years, with at least two hours addressing integrated pest management (IPM) and two hours addressing laws and regulations. Texas Cooperative Extension is one of the primary providers of training and continuing education for this program. With an increasing focus on more holistic watershed management, however, there is an opportunity for Extension personnel to use the LONE STAR HEALTHY STREAMS Program as a vehicle to expand the overall knowledge base of beef cattle producers regarding watershed management and measures for reducing bacteria contamination of streams. Through linkages with existing programs, the burden on producers and County Texas Cooperative Extension (TCE) faculty could be minimized, while the knowledge base and potential for producers to participate in, and ultimately affect changes in watershed protection, could be realized.
General Project Description
This project will be a partnership among the primary federal and state agencies that interface with beef cattle producers relative to environmental management. A Project Steering Committee will be established and coordinated by TWRI to include representatives from the TSSWCB, SWCDs, NRCS, TWRI, TCE, TAES, TDA, FSA, GLCI, and other state and federal agencies as appropriate, and representatives from key commodity groups and organizations including the Texas Farm Bureau, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, Independent Cattlemen’s Association of Texas, the Texas Forage and Grassland Council, and other allied industries as appropriate. In addition, local producers will be asked to serve on the Project Steering Committee. This committee will provide input into evaluation of BMPs, curriculum development, program delivery and CEU processes.
TCE will assess and compile current knowledge regarding BMPs designed to protect grazing lands watersheds from bacteria contamination. Based on this initial task, educational programs and materials will be developed and then tested in priority watershed(s). Concurrent with the development and testing of the educational program, BMPs will be demonstrated and evaluated to determine the efficacy of various value-added BMPs. BMPs that will be considered for evaluation include, but are not limited to the following: grazing management, shade, fencing, rip-rap, alternative water source development, riparian buffers, and combinations thereof. This evaluation will include an assessment of the effects of these BMPs on cattle behavior, bacteria levels, streambank stability, and the economic impact for beef cattle producers. At the grazing management sites, both E. coli (enumeration only) and Bacteroidales (library-independent PCR Bacteria Source Tracking) will be assessed in runoff to determine loadings and identify and quantify the specific sources of the loadings. The evaluation of Bacteroidales will also assist the state in developing cheaper, library-independent methods for Bacterial Source Tracking. At the stream sites, in addition to bi-monthly collections of E. coli and flow data, cross sections will be developed before and after BMPs are implemented to assess the impacts of BMP implementation on streambank stability.
Based on the results of the testing of the education program and BMP demonstration/evaluation, an educational program and associated materials will be developed and delivered state-wide to grazing lands owners and managers in priority watersheds to (1) bring heightened awareness of the issue regarding bacteria contamination of watersheds by grazing animals and (2) to encourage adoption of BMPs designed to reduce bacterial loading to Texas streams and water ways.
A LONE STAR HEALTHY STREAMS Extension Assistant employed by TCE will be responsible for helping develop, adapt and tailor the environmental and commodity specific LONE STAR HEALTHY STREAMS educational Program. The LONE STAR HEALTHY STREAMS Extension Assistant will coordinate with various specialists within TCE to form an internal planning team. Program development, modifications and delivery will be subject to review by a multi-agency steering committee consisting of representatives from, but not limited to: TSSWCB, TDA, NRCS, GLCI, FSA, other state and federal agencies as appropriate, and representatives from key commodity groups and organizations including the Texas Farm Bureau, Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, ICAT, the Texas Forage and Grassland Council, and other allied industry as appropriate. In addition, producers and soil and water conservation districts will be solicited to provide input into the curriculum development and program delivery processes. The Texas Cooperative Extension State Water Quality Coordinator will also provide guidance for the project.