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

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
members of the public. The ACW Partnership plans to
continue collaborating with the TPWD on these events
over the 10-year period of the ACW Protection Plan.
conservation and providing environmental education in
the Lower Rio Grande Valley is provided in Appendix F
of this document.
Agricultural Education
Program
Wildlife Expo
Strategy 9 - Collaborate with Nongovernmental
Organizations (NGOs)
Supporting Environmental Education and
Conservation Programs
A number of national, state and local nongovernmental
organizations (NGOs) provide public
E&O in the Rio Grande Valley on environmental issues
that affect the Arroyo Colorado. The information
provided by these organizations varies widely and
includes topics such as habitat restoration and
protection, endangered species protection, organic
gardening, the value of green space and general
environmental conservation. As with government
agencies providing environmental E&O, NGOs often
benefi t greatly from partnerships with local stewardship
organizations like the ACW Partnership by leveraging
scarce resources available to both organizations.
The ACW Partnership has nurtured relationships and
established partnerships with several NGOs in the Rio
Grande Valley, sharing information and participating in
small outreach activities sponsored by the NGOs. The
ACW Partnership plans to increase the collaboration
with these and other NGOs in the Rio Grande Valley to
help disseminate information about the ACW Protection
Plan over the next 10 years.
A list of NGOs supporting natural resource
Education and Outreach (E&O) on agricultural issues
has traditionally been provided to farmers and ranchers
in the watershed through the TCE, SWCDs, TAES,
NRCS, TSSWCB and TAMUK.
Through a EPA-funded project administered by
the TSSWCB, the Texas Water Resources Institute
(TWRI), working through Texas Cooperative Extension
(TCE), will organize an integrated team of multiple
agencies and groups involved with the project to
develop a comprehensive plan to effi ciently achieve the
educational goals of the ACW Partnership Agricultural
Issues Workgroup. TWRI and TCE will host educational
meetings within the three-county area in accordance
with priority issues identifi ed by the Agricultural Issues
Workgroup.
Specifi cally, the educational programs will serve
two purposes. First, TCE will utilize existing resources
provided under this project to educate producers
on proper agricultural management and production
techniques. Programs will address cotton, grain
sorghum, sugar cane, citrus and vegetable production
and proper nutrient management practices including
a soil testing campaign. Workshops will be held to
discuss water quality issues in the watershed and
BMPs for reducing agriculture’s impact on water
quality. Information and outreach will be provided at the
following events:
• Annual Irrigation Conference in McAllen
• Water Summits
• Cotton Growers Conferences
Outreach will also be provided through newspaper
articles, public service announcements (PSAs) and
articles in newsletters such as the Texas Citrus Mutual
Newsletter, FSA Newsletter and others.
Second, TCE will promote the cost-share programs
associated with water quality protection, for example,
cost-share programs to support implementation of
BMPs and technologies previously developed in the
area that did not reach full potential due to a lack of
awareness among producers will be promoted as
Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan 104 January 2007