THE NATURAL, AGRICULTURAL AND STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENTS OF THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY: A NETWORK FOR ALIGNMENT OF THOUGHT AND ACTION ON ISSUES Presented to the RCN CE 3 SAR Steering Committee 19 November 2014 Hudson 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

Thanks to  National Science Foundation  CE 3 SAR RCN