No Land, No Water:
Tools & Strategies for Conserving Land
to Protect Water Resources
Wednesday, October 1st, 2014
Texas State Capitol Extension Auditorium
Austin, Texas
1.0 hours Continuing Legal Education credit offered by the State Bar of Texas
Cost: FREE
Lunch will be provided for all attendees who register by Monday, September 29th.
To Register:
Call (210) 569-6972
Reg Online Link: https://www.regonline.com/nolandnowater
| 9:30–10:00am | Registration | |
| 10:00–10:20am | Welcome – Sizing Up the Problem: “As Goes the Land, So Goes the Water & Life as We Know It”*Blair Fitzsimons, CEO Texas Agricultural Land Trust |
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| 10:20–10:50am | Going, going, gone: How Land Loss and Fragmentation Threatens Texas’ Water Resources Dr. Roel Lopez, Director, Texas A&M Institute of Renewable Natural ResourcesIRNR will debut the result of the latest Texas Land Trends Study (www.texaslandtrends.org), a 25-year study examining the impacts of rural land loss and fragmentation on water, agriculture and other natural resources. Be the first to hear how dramatically land fragmentation is impacting the water resources needed to sustain Texas’ economy. |
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| 10:50-11:35am | A Low-Cost Tool for Land Conservation: An Introduction to the Conservation EasementAllison Elder, General Counsel, Texas Agricultural Land TrustA conservation easement is one tool available to landowners who want to keep their land in agriculture while protecting natural resources for the benefit of all Texans. Learn the basics of a conservation easement, how it works, its benefits and drawbacks and why this can be an effective tool for land and water conservation. |
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| 11:35–12:20pm | Lunch | |
| 12:30–1:15pm | State Programs & Solutions for Mitigating Land Loss Blair Fitzsimons, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Agricultural Land TrustAlan McWilliams, Director, Uplands Surface Leasing, Texas Farm & Ranch Lands Conservation Program, Texas General Land OfficeTexas has an opportunity to implement innovative land and water conservation strategies. This presentation will provide an overview of funding strategies from other states and how state money can leverage federal funding, and will profile Texas’ own Purchase of Development Rights program, the Texas Farm & Ranch Lands Conservation Program, which is housed at the General Land Office. |
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| 1:15–2:00pm | Private Lands, Public Benefits: Win/Win Strategies for Rural and Urban InterestsBlair Fitzsimons, Chief Executive Officer, Texas Agricultural Land TrustDr. Francine Romero, Board Chair, San Antonio Aquifer Protection InitiativeConservation of private land is the easiest and MOST cost effective water security strategy to implement. Learn about how two of the largest cities in the U.S. have protected their water supply and boosted their regional agricultural economies for a fraction of what other strategies would have cost tax payers. |
– Adjourn –
Cost: FREE
Lunch will be provided for all attendees who register by Monday, September 29th.
To Register:
Call (210) 569-6972
Reg Online Link: https://www.regonline.com/nolandnowater
*Quote by David K. Langford, Photographer and Co-Author of Hillingdon Ranch: Four Seasons, Six generations.