2017 Texas Envirothon

Key Topics

1. Soil and Water Conservation best management practices; their purpose and implementation.
2. How are soil and water conservation best management practices interrelated to the management of wildlife, forestry and aquatic systems?
3. How do agriculturists maintain a balance between their quality of life versus the quality of the environment?

Learning Objectives

1. Identify and recommend soil and water conservation best management practices in agriculture.
2. Describe the role of the federal government in conservation programs that benefit both agricultural producers and the environment.
3. Identify the concept of soil quality/health to provide the needed functions for the conservation planning process.
4. Identify various types of soil erosion and utilize different methods to estimate and predict soil erosion to assess land use impacts.
   • RUSLE equation
   • Aerial Photographs
   • Topographic Maps
   • Soil Maps
   • USDA Classification System
   • Soil Surveys
5. Explain why land-use planning is important to our ecosystems and to our economy to achieve sustainable agriculture.

• 10 Ways Farmers Are Saving Water
• Agricultural Water Conservation Best Management Practices Overview
• Agricultural Water Conservation Irrigation Water Use Management Best Management Practices
• Corporate Agribusiness and the Fouling of America’s Waterways
• The Emergent Patterns of Climate Change
• The Farm Bill 2014 Programs
• Farmers Guide to Conservation Stewardship Programs
• Guidelines for Soil Health Assessment
• Llano River Watershed Alliance
• Managing Riparian Areas
• Understanding Erosion with the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation
• Upper Llano River Watershed Protection Plan
• USDA Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE)
• Your Remarkable Riparian Field Guide

Recommended Reading

• The Peeling Tree [Texas Madrone]
• Chinquapin Oak – a NICE! good looking shade tree
• Arizona Black Walnut (Juglans major)
• American sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
• Pucker up! It's mistletoe season here in Texas, y'all
• Cedar Elm (Ulmus crassifolia)
• Mountain cedar – does it deserve such disdain?
• Native Species: Useful and desirable plants native to central Texas

• Agricultural Soil and Water Conservation Stewardship
• Climate Change: Impacts on Agricultural Soil and Water
• Aquatics
• Forestry
• Soils - Kimble County
• Wildlife

Supplementary Materials for Wildlife

• Chronic Wasting Disease Fact Sheet
• The Edwards Plateau Ecoregion
• Exotics in Texas
• Exotic Mammals Competing With the Natives
• Gould Ecoregions of Texas
• Put Down Some Roots Poster
• White-tailed Deer Management in the Texas Hill Country