MISSION
To sustain and enhance healthy, productive Texas forested watersheds that provide safe, reliable drinking water and forest products through strong partnerships, collaboration, funding, and action.
OVERVIEW
Forested watersheds provide consistent and desirable water quality and quantity.
As these lands are degraded or converted to other uses, this ecosystem service is threatened.
The Texas Partnership for Forests & Water is a statewide collaboration that works to increase communication and cooperation across the forest,
water, corporate, and conservation sectors. The collaboration is part of a larger regional network, the Southeastern Partnership for Forests and
Water, that focuses on strategies to enhance forest watershed management and retention to benefit water resources and local economies throughout the state.
Incentivizing landowners to retain and sustainably manage their forests results in cleaner and more reliable water available for the environment and
human consumption. A clean and reliable source of drinking water also helps foster sustainable economic growth and a higher quality of life for
residents and visitors of Texas.
WHAT WE DO
The Texas Partnership for Forests & Water has four primary focus areas: watershed assessment, education and outreach, land conservation and stewardship, and
strategic partnerships. Early efforts focused on identifying the most important forestlands for protecting surface drinking water supplies as well as educating
critical audiences on the connection between healthy forests and clean drinking water. In addition to presenting at numerous meetings and conferences, the Partnership
developed several great resources that highlight this connection. Please check out the Resources tab for more information.
While education and outreach is a continual
process, recent effort has focused on advancing this concept through land stewardship and strategic partnerships. Member organizations work with private landowners
every day to plan and implement land stewardship practices that provide a wide range of benefits that enhance water resources, wildlife habitat, and carbon storage.
The Partnership also supports local funding mechanisms for watershed protection. In 2020, voters overwhelmingly approved a $75 million Hays County Parks Bond. This
bond created funding to leverage the Texas State Revolving Fund Loan Program to protect drinking water watersheds, create new parks, and increase green spaces and
natural areas throughout the county for flood mitigation. The Partnership is also working with water providers to develop source water protection plans, engage in
resiliency initiatives, and support corporate sustainability goals. For more information on these efforts, please check the Success Stories tab.
WHERE WE WORK
A geospatial watershed assessment following the USDA Forest Service's Forests to Faucets methodology was conducted to identify priority watersheds. Data on public surface water supplies, forest cover, forest threats, and existing partnerships that could be leveraged were used in the analysis. The assessment identified high priority watersheds in Northeast Texas, Northwest Houston, Southeast Texas, and the Hill Country.
PARTNERS
The Texas Partnership for Forests & Water has 18 partners and representing state and federal agencies, water utilities, corporations, local government, landowners, and conservation organizations.
