THE NATURAL, AGRICULTURAL AND STRUCTURED

ENVIRONMENTS OF THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY:

A NETWORK FOR ALIGNMENT OF THOUGHT AND ACTION ON

ISSUES

Presented to theRCN CE3SAR Steering Committee

19 November 2014Hudson DeYoe, Director of the Center for Subtropical Studies at the University of

Texas Pan American

The LRGV is growing fast!

Population in the eight-county region is expected to grow from 1.7 million in 2010 to 4 million in 2060 (Region M Water Plan) Infrastructure struggling to keep pace

Big issues like water quantity and quality, changes of land use, and rapid development threaten sustainability of the LRGV

Context The LRGV is a patchwork of agricultural,

structured and natural environments. The proportion of these environments has changed tremendously over the past 100 years and will likely continue to do so.

Population growth and climate change will stress all three environment types in different ways.

There is a need for a comprehensive natural resource management plan to deal with this changing landscape.

Goal, Objective and Task Long-term Goal: Development of a

comprehensive natural resource management plan for the LRGV Objective: Organize a network of entities interested

in the changing mix of agricultural, structured and natural environments which is impacting LRGV sustainability Task 1: Organize a workshop/charette of LRGV

environmental organizations

This effort is modeled after CE3SAR and National Estuary Program

Pertinent Organizations Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership Frontera Audubon Texas Chapter of the Nature Conservancy Welder Wildlife Foundation Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife

Refuge U.S. Department of Agriculture Local universities

Workshop activities Prior to workshop, determine what

programs/projects each organization has that address LRGV environmental issues;

Profile their organization to peers; Develop a list of LRGV environmental

issues; Develop a set of criteria to prioritize issues; Identify issue focus groups Determine the future of the network

Accomplishments Hired a program

assistant (Anita Chavez) Refined focus and

structure of project Arranged for a

facilitator (Venegas) Set date for workshop-

May 7-8, 2015 Refining list of invitees Identified meeting

location

Post-Event Activities Expand network to include local

governments and business Seek funding for network activities Shephard the issue focus groups Add tools to CSS web site to support

network Current programs that address issues Calendar of pertinent activities White papers on select issues

http://faculty.utpa.edu/orgs/css/

Thanks to National Science Foundation CE3SAR RCN