Project Benefits, Goals, and Objectives

Project Benefits

This project will provide needed insight into the management of valuable Texas Rangelands and Central Texas Water Resources. Pre-clearing water quality data will assist scientists and land managers during the post project period striving to draw conclusions concerning the ultimate effects of clearing on plant and animal species and possible improvement of water resources. This project and the later projects will document increased water quantity and improved water quality for residents living down stream from the Hamilton and Coryell County clearing activities. Increased water yields and improved water quality will be of significant benefits to current and future residents of Central Texas. New sources of water are no longer available in Texas; however, better utilization of our current water resources by controlling water wasting species such as ashe juniper on rangelands will provide additional water reserves for future Texas needs.

Project Objectives

The major goal of this project is to present an innovative, comprehensive approach to effectively improve Central Texas water quantity and quality. To accomplish this goal, the following objectives have been established:

• Provide an effective level of coordination between federal, state and local entities to meet the goals of the project.
• Implement a public awareness campaign as an initial step in obtaining participation and support of the project goals.
• Assist participants in implementing education and technology transfer activities to residents in the targeted watershed through field days, printed materials, training workshops, technical presentations. and media coverage.
• Monitor water quantity and quality within the watersheds selected for ashe juniper clearing.
• Create a water quality database for ashe juniper clearing .
• Measure quantity of water in selected watersheds before and after clearing activities to quantify increased water yields (water savings which will be available to both area residents and downstream residents).
• Estimate the potential increased water yields (water savings) that would result from implementing ashe juniper clearing BMPs in the Leon River watershed (see Table 1 for examples).
• Coordinate activities with other entities within the area and link up with other programs and activities whenever possible to increase the project's impact.
• Create a water quality database for ashe juniper project activities. Emphasis for this project (Phase One) will be to create a background database to be used to evaluate the water quality effects of the ashe juniper clearing activities

• Chet Edwards Visits the project
• Introduction
• Background of Juniperus ashei
• Water Quality
• Water Quality Evaluation
• Project Benefits, Goals, and Objectives
• TASK 1: Project Management and Coordination
• TASK 2: Monitor Water Quality Effects
• TASK 3: Data handling and analysis
• Coordination, Roles, and Responsibilities
• References
• Re-vegetation, March 2002

December 17, 2002
Dennis Hoffman, Project Leader