Are you a farmer or rancher and are interested in learning about ways to improve your operation?
Are you someone interested in hearing the latest update on the Big Elm Creek Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) and all the exciting upcoming work?
Come to the next Big Elm Creek Partnership meeting!
- Time: 1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m., Wednesday, July 28th
- Place: Blackland Research and Extension Center located at 720 E. Blackland Road in Temple
- Todd Oneth from the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board will present on how they assist farmers and ranchers through technical and financial assistance.
- Ward Ling from the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI) will provide an overview of the Big Elm Creek Watershed Protection Plan.
- Refreshments will be on hand before and after the meeting.
The Big Elm Creek WPP was recently accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is available for download from the project website, and print copies will be available at the meeting. The Big Elm Creek WPP is a voluntary, non-regulatory plan to restore and protect the water quality in Big Elm Creek and was developed by stakeholders with the assistance of TWRI.
TWRI is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
Development of the plan was initiated in 2018 and completed in the fall of 2019. The plan identifies potential sources of pollution in the watershed and outlines a strategy for improving and protecting water quality.
Big Elm Creek is a major tributary to Little River in Central Texas and currently doesn’t meet the state water quality standard for recreation. In response to that, TWRI worked with local landowners, agricultural producers, residents, governmental entities and other stakeholders to develop the WPP to reduce bacteria in the watershed.
If you have questions or want more information, visit the project website at http://bigelmcreek.twri.tamu.edu/ or contact Ward Ling at ward.ling@ag.tamu.edu or at 979-255-1819.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is supporting implementation activities for the Big Elm Creek watershed with funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through a Clean Water Act grant.
