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Riparian/Watershed
The waters of Texas are arguably the most precious, most necessary and most vulnerable of all natural resources. Possibly taken for granted in previous generations, water issues now rise to the top of natural resource priorities. The quality and abundance of these waters are largely in the hands of private rural landowners. As Texas faces severe water challenges, it is up to all citizens to use water in a responsible manner; but it is especially important that rural and agricultural landowners realize the essential role they play in maintaining and restoring water supplies and water quality.
The watersheds of Texas, where the rainfall hits the ground, is where it starts. Good stewardship and management of the land provides for an amazing process of catching the water, storing the water, and the natural release of the water into aquifers, creeks and rivers. Think of the land as being the ultimate “catch and release” system of water management. In fact the term “water catchment” is now being used to describe this function of the landscape.
Landowners and the wildlife that inhabits the land are connected by the 190,000 miles of creeks and rivers in Texas. Neither the waters nor the wildlife can be properly managed by individual landowners. Across most of Texas, this management requires a cooperative approach with each landowner doing his or her part with the land as a whole deriving the benefits.
TOWMA with it’s network of participating associations is the perfect platform from which to spread the watershed and riparian message. Local wildlife management associations already exist across large portions of Texas and are made up of neighboring landowners who share common interests in the land. Naturally, many of these local associations are delineated and named based on creek, river and watershed features. It is a natural and logical extension to include water into the mission of TOWMA.
Association members normally have a wide ranging interest in conservation issues and they instinctively realize that land, water, wildlife and agriculture are so intricately connected that they cannot be separated. The people who live, work, farm, ranch, hunt and fish in these local areas are the best ones to be the front line caretakers and stewards of the natural resources.
The art and science of riparian management has come a long way in the past 30 years, but the message has not yet been widely delivered to most landowners in Texas. The basic message of how creeks and riparian areas function is not difficult to grasp when it is properly presented. Landowners who have been exposed to these principles have embraced it enthusiastically. For many of them it is like a light turns on and they begin to understand things they have been observing all their lives.
This riparian and watershed initiative is not a change in direction for TOWMA, but merely an extension of what TOWMA stands for – the conservation and stewardship of the land – which includes the soil, water, plants and animals. Adding a strong creek, river and riparian conservation component to TOWMA and to individual associations is a natural and logical approach. After all, what is good for water is good for wildlife and good for people.
TOWMA was formed on the premise that wildlife populations are a shared resource – no one actually owns the wildlife, but landowners are the stewards of the habitat and the managers of the harvest. Likewise the leadership of TOWMA recognizes that water is also a shared resource and that groups of adjacent and neighboring landowners are the ones to manage and conserve creeks, rivers and water resources. This applies no matter how large or small the tracts are. With a voluntary cooperative approach, the waters of Texas can be properly managed, conserved and restored. –Steve Nelle
A collection of informational papers titled "Riparian Notes" by Steve Nelle, NRCS, is located on the US Department of The Interior, Division of Land Management, website, located HERE. This is a great series of articles that anyone interested in our water resources should enjoy and find educational.