Alternative Title
NCKRI Symposium 2: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst
Files
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Publication Date
May 2013
Abstract
The Water Quality Protection Lands program was established in 1998 based on a bond proposal passed to protect Barton Springs in the heart of Austin, Texas. Barton Springs is a popular swimming area for citizens and is also home to at least one federally endangered species of salamander. The initial bond called for 6,070 hectares of land to be protected. Land acquisition has benefitted from additional bonds since then as well the use of grants to raise the total acreage to over 10,731 hectares at present. Additional cost saving measures such as the use of conservation easements have allowed these dollars to be stretched further. Science has helped guide the acquisition of land into more productive geographic areas (based on recharge) and helped direct the management of these lands to further benefit water quality and quantity. Land management focuses on ecological restoration of vegetation back to native prairie and savanna ecosystems which provide optimal water yield from the land based upon the inverse relationship between woody cover and water yield. These restoration actions combined with proper karst management protects both water quality and water quantity recharging through these lands. -- Author Open Access - Permission by Publisher See Extended description for more information.
Type
Conference Proceeding
Publisher
University of South Florida
Identifier
K26-03338
Recommended Citation
Thuesen, Kevin, "Restoring land and managing karst to protect water quality and quantity at Barton Springs, Austin, Texas NCKRI Symposium 2: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst" (2013). KIP Talks and Conferences. 131.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_talks/131
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