The Watershed Association

Free Workshop: Top Laws TX Landowners need to know
2019-08-26 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Chicago)
https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/productListingDetails/2828

Agricultural law is an important topic for Texas landowners. This program will provide attendees with information on a broad number of common issues facing landowners from water law to eminent domain, special use tax valuation to landowner liability, fence law to key estate planning documents, and more.
All attendees will receive a copy of the “Owning Your Piece of Texas: Top Laws Texas Landowners Need to Know” handbook. Speakers will include attorneys Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, Extension Ag Law Specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Stephanie Bradley Fryer, Owner of Stephanie Bradley Fryer, PLLC.
Lunch will be provided by Ag Workers Insurance.

TCEQ Public Meeting for Honey Creek
2019-08-20 19:00 - 20:30 | Bulverde Elementary School, 1715 East Ammann Road, Bulverde, texas
From our friends at GEAA:
A public meeting will be held on the permit application of Silesia Properties to discharge 500,000 gallons/day into Honey Creek (Permit No. WQ0015688001). As you may recall, the discharge point is upstream of Honey Creek State Natural Area and Guadalupe State Park.
The Public Meeting will be held on Tuesday, August 20,2019 at 7:00 p.m. at Rahe Bulverde Elementary School, 1715 East Ammann Road, Bulverde, Texas 78163
To prepare for the TCEQ Public Meeting, GEAA will host a strategy meeting to prepare for the TCEQ meeting one evening in early August. Please stay tuned for details. We will send out an e-mail announcing this meeting or, you can check our Save Honey Creek FaceBook page.
Deadline for submitting comments is August 20, 2019. You may submit written comments on-line at www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/ (click here). To submit comments on-line refer to Permit No. WQ0015688001.
or you can mail comments to: Office of the Chief Clerk, TCEQ, Mail Code MC-105, PO Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087
WVWA and our partners at GEAA strongly object to direct discharge of sewage effluent into Honey Creek due to the high potential of negative impacts to this crystal clear water. We look forward to working with all of you to stop this travesty and hope to see you at the upcoming strategy meeting and on August 20th.
Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy our Hill Country waterways this July secure in the knowledge that we are doing all we can to keep them as beautiful and clean as they are today.

FREE Webinar: The Devil's River - Saving one of the last great Texas rivers.
2019-08-20 18:30 - 19:30
The next Texas Waters Webinar is under one week away! The webinar will be held Tuesday, August 20th from 6:30pm-7:30pm. Sarah’s webinar will discuss Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s effort to protect the Devils River, which includes working with numerous partners to employ holistic stewardship of the river including conducting and funding biological and hydrologic research, working with landowners to promote healthy watershed practices, and managing recreation to reduce impacts. This webinar will touch on Chapter 5 & 8 of the Texas Waters: Exploring Water and Watersheds curriculum.

If you would like to register to attend the live webinar, you can click here or anywhere on the banner image above. If you are unable to attend the live presentation, the recorded webinar and associated PowerPoint will be available for download from the Texas Waters Specialist page a few days after the event.

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions.
Melissa Alderson
Conservation Education Manager
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department HQ
Office: (512) 389-8060; Cell: (512) 217-5366
TPWD – Education

Texas Groundwater Summit
2019-08-20 - 2019-08-22 | Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort, 9800 Hyatt Resort Dr., San Antonio, TX, 78251, United States
Student Scholarships

Studying groundwater? Interested in learning more and connecting with professionals in the field? Apply for a scholarship to attend the 2019 Texas Groundwater Summit. Students are also encouraged to submit your research for inclusion in our Student Poster Session. More information is available here.
Interested? Please contact Beth Hood at beth@texasgroundwater.org.

Register Now
Early Bird registration for the 2019 Texas Groundwater Summit closes April 30. Register now.

Sponsors

Show your commitment to groundwater policy, emerging management trends, education, and research by becoming a sponsor of the 2019 Texas Groundwater Summit.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please contact Beth Hood at beth@texasgroundwater.org. Learn more about sponsorship packages here.

Exhibitors

Join your colleagues from GCDs, engineering firms, state agencies, and database solution providers, and connect with over 350 conference attendees when you become an exhibitor at the 2019 Texas Groundwater Summit. Secure your booth here.

Hotel Room Block

The Texas Groundwater Summit is back at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. Secure a room at our discounted rate of $140/night here. The room block closes July 31.

NEEDMORE Follow Up Meeting with TESPA
2019-08-19 18:00 - 20:00 | TX, United States
NEEDMORE POST MORTEM
and the FIGHT AHEAD!

How did we get here? And what are we going to do about it?
That’s the essence of the Trinity Groundwater Protection Planning Meeting set for next Monday. Jim Blackburn, TESPA attorney and board president, will provide an insightful look back, and then map our way forward with your help and support.Your attendance is crucial and valuable. Please plan to attend.

DATE: August 19
TIME: 6 to 8pm
PLACE: St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 6000 FM 3237, Wimberley, TX
HOST: TESPAOn Aug 19 you will also learn about the District’s (BSEACD) periodic well-monitoring program and how you can be part of it.

Conservation Easement Workshop
2019-08-16 13:30 - 17:00 | Cibolo Nature Center Auditorium

Managing Our Stormwater - A FREE Green Infrastructure Workshop
2019-08-13 13:00 - 16:00 | one texas center, 505 Barton Springs Rd, Room 325, Austin, Texas
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service and City of Austin Watershed Protection are hosting a free half‐day workshop on Green Infrastructure, nature based techniques to clean and conserve stormwater.
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
1pm – 4pm
One Texas Center
505 Barton Springs Rd, Room 325
Austin, TX 78704
Speakers will focus on the why and how of green infrastructure practices using case studies from Texas.
Register for the workshop at GIFT-TCWP.eventbrite.com

Final Hearing for the Needmore Water, LLC Permit
2019-07-29 16:00 - 18:00 | buda city hall, 405 Loop St., Buda, TX, 78610
Read the notice here.
The BSEACD Board will hear public comments on Needmore’s proposed permit. Comments must not be repetitive and must be limited to three minutes per person. TESPA is encouraging landowners who will be affected by the permit, or who are concerned about over production of groundwater resources in Hays County, to attend the hearing and make comments. For more information about the proposed permit, read this flyer or visit the Needmore page on our website.
Together, the Electro Purification and Needmore proposed permits will cause significant drawdown in the Middle Trinity Aquifer. The cones of depression associated with these two permit requests actually overlap, and if BSEACD grants both permits, pumping will exceed the modeled available groundwater. Now, more than ever, we need to fight to protect our groundwater resources from over pumping!

Know Your Plants: Native plant identification for common grasses, ﻿forbs & wildflowers
2019-07-17 08:00 - 17:00
Native vegetation is much more than aesthetics and can provide habitat, food, and shelter for wildlife. We will discuss an overview of the native plant families of Central Texas and some common members of each, as well as some of the flora-fauna mutualistic benefits created.
Registration: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Mlse6yRWSeig022pshM7Kg

CAMPO: Transportation Policy Board Meeting
2019-07-08 18:00 - 20:00 | UT Thompson Conference Center, 2405 Robert Dedman Dr., Austin, TX, 78712, United States
July 8 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

The Transportation Policy Board Meeting takes place in Room 3.102 of the University of Texas Thompson Center.

CURRENT OUTREACH OPPORTUNITIES
Community outreach and input are a key part of CAMPO’s transportation planning efforts. CAMPO’s planning studies include in-person and online input through open houses.
Current Comment Opportunities
The Transportation Policy Board receives public comment at every meeting. Check the calendar page for upcoming meetings and call 512.215.8225 to sign up to make comments during the public comment period.
CAMPO is hosting a series of in-person open houses providing information for the Regional Arterials Study, MoKan/Northeast Subregional Plan, and the Transportation Demand Management Plan. The comment period is open from June 10, 2019 to July 15, 2019. View the CAMPO calendar for all information regarding the in-person open houses. You can access each online open house via the links below:

Jacobs Well Community Garden Potluck
2019-06-29 18:00 - 20:00 | Jacobs Well Community Garden
Hello Dear Garden Lovers!
We invite you to join us for our upcoming JWCG Garden Party and community gathering Saturday, June 29 at 6pm.

This is Farm to Table at its best! We will harvest and cook on the spot!

Please bring a folding chair, water to drink and a dish to contribute to our community meal.

It looks like we will have basil and other herbs, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers, peppers, squash, green beans, potatoes, chard, kale and carrots, and who knows what else?The garden looks like a jungle of fruit and veggies exploding these days! So beautiful and abundant!

This is a time for us to join in community and celebrate the abundance of the garden! We would love to share our joy with you.

Keys to a Healthy, Resilient valley
2019-06-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Wimberley Village Library, 400 FM 2325, Wimberley, 78676, United States
“Keys to a Healthy, Resilient valley”
with Daniel Oppenheimer – Hill Country Alliance

Monday, June 24, 6 – 7:30 pm

Whether you live up on the hillside or down by the creek, there are great opportunities to steward your “Little Bit of Heaven.” Good land stewardship provides interconnected benefits for people, plants, animals and water. Daniel Oppenheimer is the Land Program Manager at Hill Country Alliance, where he works with landowners and communities across Central Texas on land stewardship projects. He will discuss simple steps we can all take to enhance the natural beauty of our land, protect our groundwater, encourage our natives, and increase the resilience of our valley.

Groundbreaking Ceremony: One Water Elementary School
2019-06-24 17:00 - 18:00
Wimberley ISD’s groundbreaking ceremony for the first one water school in Texas is set for Monday, June 24th, at 5pm. The ceremony will take place at the school’s location at the intersection of Winter’s Mill Parkway and RR12 in Wimberley.

The River and the Wall Screening & Potluck
2019-06-04 18:30 - 21:00 | Wimberley Village Library, 400 FM 2325, Wimberley, 78676, United States
Documentary Night features

“The River and the Wall”

Tuesday, June 4,
Healthy Potluck at 6:45 pm
Film starts promptly at 7 pm

At 1,759 miles, the Rio Grande is the fourth-largest river in the United States, beginning in Colorado and running down to South Texas.The overwhelming beauty and pristine awesomeness of Big Bend and the Rio Grande Valley is explored on foot, bicycle, horseback and canoe by five adventurers as they travel the river assessing the ecological and social impact of a border wall.

Violet Crown Trail Ribbon Run
2019-06-01 07:30 - 22:00 | Slaughter Trailhead, 5011 Slaughter lane, Austin, Texas, 78749
Thank you for your support of the Violet Crown Trail!
Hill Country Conservancy is proud to announce the grand opening of the Violet Crown Trail’s latest trailhead at Slaughter Lane. This milestone is 13 years in the making and would not be possible without the continued support, generosity and hard work of donors like you. Thanks to each of your contributions, the VCT will be a natural amenity serving Austinites for generations to come.
Join us on National Trails Day, June 1st, to celebrate the grand opening of the Slaughter trailhead for an inaugural 5K trail run and 1k walk-and-talk, followed by a party at Sendera Mesa Neighborhood Park.

Register Now!

The morning will begin with a press conference and ribbon cutting at the VCT Slaughter trailhead at 7:30 a.m. The run and walk will then end at nearby Sendera Park for food, fun and festivities. The party will kick off at 8:45 a.m. with tacos, coffee, water and goody-bags generously provided by REI.
Be part of history and help HCC break the ribbon to celebrate this milestone. See you on the trail!
*Parking available at Sendera Mesa Neighborhood Park
4717 Davis Ln, Austin, TX 78749

Austin Regenerative Practitioner Meet & Greet
2019-05-31 17:30 - 19:30
Friday, May 31, at 5:30 pm at Casa de Luz hosted by local practitioners of regenerative development. Regenerative development works to align human activities with the continuing evolution of life on Earth, reversing ecosystem degradation while growing community wellbeing.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/austin-regenerative-practitioner-meet-greet-tickets-61742797369

A number of us were part of the 2018 Austin Regenerative Practitioner cohort and have been continuing to foster a learning community here in Austin. At the heart of this work is a shift from problems to potential, and cultivating the field of caring, creativity and co-responsibility that can unlock innovative solutions to our most pressing challenges. The Regenerative Practitioner Series is being offered again in Austin in 2019 and this gathering is a chance to explore the potential intersections of the work that all of us are doing in our various realms and how regenerative frameworks might support even greater positive impact.

If you can make it, you can click here to register (free of course!) so you can get it on your calendars. Hope to see you then!

Readiness for Resilience: A Smart Technology Roadmap for Texas
2019-05-20 - 2019-05-21 | Galveston Island Convention Center
Join us for this two day workshop as we continue our commitment to post-Harvey long-term community resilience,through the Smart Technology Roadmap for Texas. Community leaders, stakeholders, and technology partners will convene to discuss post-Harvey regional project directions, case studies, public-private partnerships, and funding opportunities as we work together to build a more resilient Texas through smart technologies.

Who should attend? County and municipal leaders, long-term recovery groups, emergency management, public works, utilities, hospitals, levee and flood control districts, community planners, technology and engineering firms, and representatives from regional, state and federal agency programs.
For more information about this event contact Steven Mikulencak (smikulencak@tamu.edu), Charriss York (cyork@tamu.edu), or Madeline Jones (mljones@tamu.edu)

A Texas Myth Screening
2019-05-11 15:00 - 17:00 | AFS Cinema
In this new documentary, West Texas landowners and Native Americans band together to resist the Trans Pecos oil pipeline

14th Annual Central Texas Funders Forum
2019-05-06 08:00 - 16:30
Organized by the Austin-Central Texas Chapter of the Grant Professional Association and the Austin Community College Center for Nonprofit Studies, and presented by the St. David’s Foundation, this event provides professional development and networking for grant, development, and executive professionals in the Texas nonprofit sector. This year’s theme, “Grants and The Art of Storytelling,” will provide all participants the opportunity to hear directly from grant-making organizations about what makes a grant application narrative really stand out.
Monday, May 6 at Austin Community College Eastview Campus
Ticket prices range from $30-$80.

Talk on the Texas Coastal Exchange, a new carbon offset program for the Gulf Coast.
2019-05-05 14:00 - 16:30 | The King Evangelical Lutheran Church, 2353 Rice Blvd, Houston, Texas
Presented by Jim Blackburn
There will be a talk on Sunday, May 5 at 2 p.m. in Houston, and online, about how you, and/or your house of worship, can participate in the Texas Coastal Exchange, a new carbon offset program for the Gulf Coast. You may participate by purchasing offsets, or selling them, if you have land you can manage for carbon storage. Check them out at: https://www.texascoastalexchange.org/. Lisa Brenskelle.

It's Not a Done Deal Fest
2019-04-24 16:00 - 20:00 | Real Ale Brewing, 231 San Saba Ct., Blanco, Texas
We want to get this pipeline moved out of the Texas Hill Country. It’s NOT a Done Deal, but we can’t fight Kinder Morgan without your help.
Rub elbows with your neighbors, enjoy live music, learn what you can do to help protect our Hill Country communities. Tap room will be open and food available.
Bring your friends and neighbors!
Live Music By Cameran Nelson, Zydeco Blanco, Avalee featuring Stacia Woods & Colin Clark
Learn Your Rights
Find out how to take action
Speakers from across our 4 county region
(We still need a few more volunteers. Please email us if you’d like to help: https://BlancoSTP.com/volunteer )

Earth Day Austin
2019-04-13 12:00 - 18:00 | Huston-Tillotson University, 900 Chicon St., Austin, Texas, 78702
Earth Day ATX is a zero waste event, which means we will have many opportunities to lower your carbon footprint, conserve, recycle and upcycle. Stay tuned to find out more important details about the event.

Annual Lende Lecture Series at Cibolo Creek Featuring Andy Samson
2019-04-13 02:00 - 17:00 | Cibolo Nature Center Auditorium
A community lecture on critical water issues in Texas.
Cibolo Nature Center & Farm and the Cibolo Preserve invite you to learn about water conservation in the delicate Cibolo Creek and beyond.
This second installment in the Lende Lecture Series will address critcal water issues and provide valuable insight on local water conservation and efficiency practices.
RSVP by April 10th

Cypress Creek Nature Trail Stakeholders Meeting
2019-04-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Wimberley Community Center, 14068 Ranch Road 12, Wimberley, TX, 78676, United States
There will be a second meeting for Cypress Creek Nature Trail (CCNT) stakeholders. The meeting will be facilitated by a third-party specialist and is designed to take stakeholders through an assessment of the status of the CCNT and Preserve.

Plant Diversity and a Healthy Native Landscape
2019-04-10 18:00 - 20:00 | Wimberley Village Library, 400 FM 2325, Wimberley, 78676, United States
Michele Bertelsen, an ecologist from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, will be speaking about plant diversity and the ecological functions needed to sustain a healthy native landscape using work done at our own Blue Hole Park as an example.

Spicewood Ranch Spring Native Plant ID Workshop
2019-04-10 08:00 - 17:00 | Spicewood Ranch
Friends,
We are excited to announce the first of two ESC Spicewood Ranch Spring Native Plant ID Workshops for Spring 2019!
Instructor– Bill Carr, Acme Botanical Services
Location– Spicewood Ranch
Time: 9 am to 1 pm, Sunday, April 14, 2019
Registration Details: Registration required. $25 to be paid in person at the workshop (cash, check, credit cards OK). Workshop limited to 15 participants.

Register Now

Spicewood Ranch is a 1,200 acre ranch about 1 hour west of Austin where Environmental Survey Consulting has been doing habitat restoration and research for almost 30 years.
The workshop will be conducted by Bill Carr, a plant expert with 35 years of field experience in Texas.

Those who wish to stay and visit a bit longer can join us at 1 pm for an informal lunch at Del Nanno (the “grandpa house”). Please bring your own lunch, snacks, and water.

Jacobs Well Garden Party
2019-03-31 18:00 - 19:30 | Jacobs Well Community Garden
please bring a pot luck dish to share, and cold drinks as well.

Blanco County Town Hall - Permian Highway Pipeline
2019-03-28 17:30 - 19:30 | Old Blanco County Courthouse, 300 Main St., Blanco, TX, 78606, United States

Texas Water Syposium: Water and the 2019 Legislative Session: The Outlook for Hill Country Water Resources
2019-03-28 08:00 - 17:00
2019.3.28_TWS_86 Legislature and Texas Water_FLYER
Join state representatives from the Hill Country as they engage in a conversation and public question and answer session to discuss bills that address flooding, treated effluent discharges, water well protection, growth, and support of sound science oriented natural resource policy.
The program, titled Water and the 2019 Legislative Session: The Outlook for Hill Country Water Resources, will be held at 7pm on Thursday, March 28 at the Texas Capitol Extension room E1.014 in Austin, Texas.
Moderator: Vanessa Puig-Williams – Puig-Williams Law PLLC, and Executive Director, TESPA
Panel members will include:

Representative Kyle Biedermann – District 73; Comal, Kendall, & Gillespie Counties
Representative Vikki Goodwin – District 47; Western Travis County
Representative Andrew Murr – District 53; Western Hill Country Counties
Representative Erin Zwiener – District 45; Hays and Blanco Counties

Very inexpensive parking right next door at the Capitol parking garage.
Please distribute this flyer to your contacts!
For over 10 years the Texas Water Symposium has broadcast radio programming about our most precious resource.

Stop the Permian Highway Pipeline
2019-03-27 16:00 - 20:00 | Vista Brewery, 13551 FM 150, Driftwood, Texas
A FREE Gathering of Central Texas people concerned about the proposed Kinder Morgan Permian Highway Pipeline. We will have experts speaking, yard signs and stickers, a raffle and other ways to engage.
Vista brewery is a quintessentially beautiful Hill Country venue. There will be craft beer, cider, wine and farm-to-table dinner from the restaurant available for sale. Live music by Big Cedar Fever!
This project sets a very dangerous precedent for our region as it threatens landowner rights, our tourism economy, our water, endangered species and much more.
This is an opportunity for landowners and residents to learn more about the science behind our unique ecoregion and why this route poses enormous threats to our livelihood.
People standing together for what they believe in are more powerful than any corporation. Let’s come together and learn what we can do to take the stewardship of our homeland into our own hands.
This event is a fundraiser for the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association‘s Defense Fund.
Support the Online Resistance: savethehillcountry.org
