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Linking Water Conservation and Natural ResourceStewardship in the Trinity River Basin

James C. Cathey, Ph.D., CWB, Texas Cooperative Extension,Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences,Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USAShawn L. Locke, Ph.D., Texas Cooperative Extension,Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences,Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USAAndrea M. Feldpausch, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences,Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USAIsrael D. Parker, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences,Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USACarl Frentress, Advanced Ecology Ltd., Athens, Texas, USAJay Whiteside, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, Texas, USACorey Mason, CWB, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, Texas, USAMatthew W. Wagner, Ph.D., CWB, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Austin, Texas, USA

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This document represents the

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rst in a series of publications involving a partnership betweenTexas A&M University, Texas Cooperative Extension, Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sci-ences, Institute of Renewable Natural Resources, and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Wethank the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for funding for this work. Additional funding wasprovided from the Renewable Resources Extension. We thank John Cooper (Texas CooperativeExtension, Denton County), the Elm Fork Chapter of the Texas Master Naturalist Program, andGary and Sue Price (77 Ranch) for providing examples of rural and urban land stewardship. TheTrinity Basin Conservation Foundation was a catalyst for this work, and we appreciate the col-laboration with their members concerning this publication. Photos were provided by James C.Cathey. We appreciate the efforts of Anna Munoz, Clark Adams and Stephen Davis for providingeditorial review of this manuscript.

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INTRODUCTION

As we head into the 21st century, waterconservation has quickly become a core issuefacing citizens of Texas. Texans commonlyhear that demand for water by the humanpopulation has already outgrown the supplyin Texas. Currently, plans for new reservoirconstruction or inter-basin transfers of waterare increasingly controversial. Many believethat the confrontations are because societymay be reluctant to pay for ecological andmonetary costs associated with these watersupply proposals. Also, rural interests are agrowing force demanding more balance inwater issues. Fortunately, this factionalizedforum brings opportunities for innovationsand non-traditional approaches to enhance-ments for water supplies. The purpose of thispublication is to stimulate further creativethinking about opportunities through landstewardship that bene

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t water and wildlife.Slowing human population growth is anunlikely

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x to water shortage issues. To putthis into perspective, the human populationin Texas is projected to be 34-41 million by2030, which is nearly twice the populationof the year 2000. The Bureau of Reclamationpredicts that by 2025, a signi

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cant num-ber of areas, including Dallas-Fort Worth,will fail to meet water demands for people,farms and the environment (http://www.doi.gov/water2025/supply.html). Water andwildlife habitat conservation efforts aimed atthe Trinity River Basin will likely become aconservation focal point in the state since theriver connects the huge population centersof Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston. To meetthese ever-increasing water needs, Texans,now more than ever, are required to criti-cally think of the interconnected relationshipbetween population growth and ecosystemhealth.The dramatic increase of impervious surfaces(e.g., pavement, rooftops or other surfaces)related to urban and suburban developmentand other land-use changes has not onlydecreased potential groundwater recharge as-sociated with rainfall events, but also has ledto problems for municipalities that must dealwith increased rates of stormwater

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ow intostream corridors. Nutrient loading associ-ated with stream pulses can also negativelyimpact water quality and ecosystem healthduring times of intense rainfall. Consideringthese trends of increased water demand andthe subsequent decreases in water quality andquantity associated with urbanization andother land-use practices, a need clearly existsto re-examine how we develop and manageexisting as well as new sources of water.Although many methods for capturing waterare available for human and agriculturaluses, responsible land stewardship is a keyprocess. In this publication, we describe theTrinity River watershed, de

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ne land steward-ship and explore its relationship to ecosystemhealth. Further, we describe how responsibleland stewardship can be applied in urban andrural settings, explore connections betweenecosystem function and land stewardship,and answer important questions about theTrinity River Basin.

THE TRINITY RIVER BASIN

The Trinity River begins near the Texas-Oklahoma border in Clay, Archer and Mon-tague counties. Lost, Hurricane, Grayson,White Rock, Denton and Clear Creekseventually merge with the West, Elm andEast forks to form the Trinity River. It ex-tends southeast about 512 miles, traversing

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ve of the state’s ten ecoregions (Figure 1)before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico viathe Trinity Bay near Houston, Texas (Fig-ure 2). The entire Trinity River Watershedencompasses over 18,000 square miles (7%of the total land area of Texas) and travels

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