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Field Trip

Resilience in the San Marcos and Blanco Rivers from Bio-geomorphic and Social-Ecological Perspectives

Friday October 13th, 8:00 am – 5:00 pm

Field Trip organizer: Kimberly Meitzen, kmeitzen@txstate.edu, phone: 1-512-245-1336

Join us for a field trip covering diverse aspects of bio-geomorphic and social-ecological resilience in the San Marcos and Blanco Rivers. This field trip will cover four main topics within this theme, including:

1. Catastrophic flood disturbance on Blanco River from the 2015 Memorial day floods and post-disturbance riparian restoration and recovery, with stops in Wimberley and University Camp on the Blanco River.

2. Restoration of Spring Lake within the Upper San Marcos River watershed, a catered box lunch stop at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, and a glass-bottom boat tour of Spring Lake. 

3. Overview and examples of instream and riverbank restoration resulting from the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Projects (EAHCP) on the upper San Marcos River. This portion of the field trip will involve a short kayaking trip of the San Marcos River, however participants not wanting to kayak may choose to walk a paved trail along the river or be transported by the bus to the end point.

4. History, controversy, (and hopefully by October) removal of Cape’s Dam on the San Marcos River.

Friday’s field trip will depart from the Comfort Suites near Texas State University at 8am. Those not staying at the hotel can park there for the day.  Obtain a parking pass from Jason Julian or Kimberly Meitzen the day of the field trip.

blanco river
Stop 1: Aerial view of riparian land cover changes at one of our first field trip stops along the Blanco River near Wimberley, TX, pre- and post- May 2015 flood (left: google maps, right: DigitalGlobe 2015).

 

stop 2
Stop 2: Glass-bottom boat tour at Spring Lake and Balcones Escarpment, where we will learn about this sensitive social-ecological system.

                                                            

stop 3
Stop 3: San Marcos River, where we will learn about the Habitat Conservation Plan and ongoing restoration efforts.