Watershed Protection Plan - Lower Rio Grande Valley Development ...

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan
(ACW Protection Plan) is the result of the hard work
and dedication of numerous individuals. Proper
recognition of every person and organization that
contributed to this Plan is not practical or feasible due
to the sheer number of participants involved. However,
the following individuals and organizations deserve
special thanks for their outstanding contributions of
time and efforts dedicated to development of this Plan.
The Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership (ACW
Partnership) extends special thanks to Pat Radloff,
David Buzan, Chris Rakestraw, Paul Bergh, Don
Hockaday, Mary Lou Campbell, Jim Chapman, Roger
Miranda and Gail Rothe for their pioneering work
fostering stewardship of the Arroyo Colorado. Their
efforts to protect the Arroyo Colorado are among the
fi rst to be documented and form the foundation for
the high level of stewardship enjoyed by the Arroyo
Colorado today. In more recent years, the leadership
and outstanding coordination efforts of Laura De La
Garza and Jude Benavides have served to solidify
and expand stewardship efforts throughout the Arroyo
Colorado watershed.
Several grants in support of the ACW Partnership,
and used for development of this Plan, were awarded
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration, the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality, the Texas Soil
and Water Conservation Board, the Texas
General Land Offi ce and the Texas Coastal
Management Program through the Coastal
Coordination Council. Among the many
organizations that contributed resources
to the development of this plan, the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department, Texas Sea
Grant, the Nueces River Authority, the Lone
Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Nature
Conservancy, the U.S. Geological Survey
and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
stand out as having contributed above the
expectations of the ACW Partnership.
Major contributors and authors of the
Plan include Laura De la Garza, Kay
Jenkins, Kevin Wagner, Aaron Wendt, Andy
Garza, Sky Lewey and Roger Miranda.
In addition to writing major portions of the
Plan, these individuals led the various Work
Groups responsible for producing the main components
of the Plan. The Work Groups made extensive use of
the work performed by the following paid consultants:
Alan Plummer and Associates, Inc., CRESPO
Consulting Services, Inc., White Hat Creative, Inc., and
SumaOrchard Social Marketing, Inc. Other individuals
who contributed signifi cantly to the Plan include Randy
Blankinship, David Buzan, Jared (Woody) Woodrow,
Ricardo Lopez, Rocky Freund and John S. Jacob.
Throughout the development of the Plan the
following organizations granted access to specifi c
resources, locations, facilities and/or made donations
which facilitated development of the Plan: The
International Boundary and Water Commission,
the Texas Cooperative Extension, the Lower Rio
Grande Valley Development Council, the Harlingen
Water Works System, the Port of Harlingen Authority,
Cameron County, the City of La Feria, the City of Pharr,
and the City of Weslaco.
We reserve special thanks for Laura De La
Garza, Arroyo Colorado Watershed Coordinator,
who overcame signifi cant professional and personal
obstacles to lead the successful effort to develop the
Plan.
ACW Partnership Steering Committee meeting in the Rio Red
classroom of the TAMUK Citrus Center
January 2007 vii Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan