Governor Rick Perry and leaders from Texas AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Wildlife Association, and Texas Parks and Wildlife joined to aid the Trinity Basin Conservation Foundation (TBCF) in its efforts to improve water quality and wildlife habitat in the Trinity River Basin.
In September 2006, Governor Perry announced a Trinity River Initiative to help clean up the Trinity River, which has a long history of water-quality problems. Perry said, ''If Texans all along the Trinity River band together to fully protect its water quality and restore the river to its more pristine past, it will have a dramatic impact on birds, wildlife, and ecotourism. Texas A&M University will coordinate the improvement efforts, which involve funding from several state agencies including the Texas Water Development Board, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the Trinity River Authority. The Trinity Basin Conservation Foundation also will help with the project and private landowners can participate voluntarily, Perry said.
In his keynote address to ~ 125 guests, Governor Perry spoke of family members whose influence helped develop his appreciation for nature. He indicated that family lessons taught early in life instilled a love of the land common among landowners and conservationists. The Governor noted that much has been accomplished since 2006 and applauded the efforts of TBCF members and partners who have banded together and are actively advancing wetland restoration, reforestation and wildlife habitat efforts. Governor Perry realized that long-termed funding, planning and work were needed to improve the hydrology, wetland restoration, reforestation and wildlife habitat efforts to make the Trinity River Basin Environmental Restoration Initiative a national conservation model.
Support for the TBCF was evident, as Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission Chairman Peter Holt congratulated the group’s efforts to enhance restoration efforts along the river corridor. Chairman Holt expressed that conservation in this basin is a must, as improved water resources link urban and rural Texans.
“Texas AgriLife Extension Service is glad to partner with the others because we share a common interest in conservation and stewardship of our natural resources,” said Dr. Ed Smith, Texas AgriLife Extension Service Director. “With more than 5.5 million people depending on the water from the Trinity and with the importance of its ecological systems, our agency serves a vital role in educating the public about ways to take care of this river.”
Randy Rehmann, President of the Texas Wildlife Association, spoke of the critical role that TBCF plays in teaching Texans about the importance of open space lands and how they influence quality of life for the rest of Texans. He noted that demands for water will increase dramatically in the near future and pointed out that sound management practices help maintain water infiltration and recharge.
Carter Smith, Executive Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said "Rivers are the lifeblood of Texas for people and for wildlife and the environment, which is why the Trinity River corridor conservation initiative holds so much promise and is so important. Here we have a rare chance to explore coordinated conservation up and down an entire river basin linking our state's two largest urban areas. Grassroots involvement of private landowners along the Trinity's banks is critical to enhance the quality and quantity of water for people and wildlife,” he said. “The Trinity Basin Conservation Foundation represents an umbrella effort to bring together all parties involved and to raise money and secure needed resources, and we wish them all success.”
The TBCF, a group composed largely of conservation-minded landowners, recently met with state leaders at the Rosewood - Seagoville Ranch to discuss common interests in the basin. Many TBCF members, whose properties comprise about 150,000 acres, mix traditional farming and ranching with wildlife management. The mission of the foundation is to improve the quality of life, economic sustainability and ecological integrity of areas associated with the Trinity River Basin through a broad-based coalition of local communities and municipalities, non-government organizations, and stewards of private and public lands. They recognize that rangelands and bottomland hardwood forests have economic value and ecosystems services which provide clean water and other products, to Texans.
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