Dixon Water Foundation

Promoting healthy watersheds through sustainable land management

NEWS & EVENTS

Kids on the Land returns to Josey Pavilion

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Kids on the Land returned to Dixon Ranches Leo Unit in April. Kids on the Land outdoor environmental programs teach children about the region where they live, connecting them to the land and a more sustainable future. The foundation’s education partners, like Kids on the Land, frequently visit Dixon Ranches for field days to learn about sustainable land management, watershed health, wildlife, native plants, and other subjects. Learn more about school field programs on this page, and check out the gallery below for glimpses into the fun Kids on the Land brought to the Josey Pavilion this spring.

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Study affirms adaptive grazing’s water benefits

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Adaptive multi-paddock grazing enhances water conservation and protects water quality, according to a recent Texas AgriLife study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment.

“We found grazing management practices do have a significant influence on ecosystem services provided by rangelands,” said co-author Dr. Srinivasulu Ale, a geospatial hydrology associate professor. “Not only did the multi-paddock grazing practice provide several hydrological benefits such as increased soil infiltration, increased water conservation and decreased surface runoff, but also environmental benefits such as water quality improvement.”

Richard Teague, an AgriLife rangelands researcher in Vernon and science advisory board member for the foundation, was another co-author on the study. Teague said the research was designed to help producers assess the hydrologic and water quality impacts of traditional and alternate grazing management practices and identify best management practices for long-term sustainability of rangelands.

The Dixon Water Foundation funded the research project and employs adaptive multi-paddock grazing on Dixon Ranches.

For a summary of the research findings, visit the Texas AgriLife news website. The complete journal article is also available on ScienceDirect: “Evaluating the ranch and watershed scale impacts of using traditional and adaptive multi-paddock grazing on runoff, sediment and nutrient losses in North Texas, USA.”

Allen Williams workshop at Leo Unit on May 31

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Allen Williams, Ph.D., will provide insight and share his experiences as a consultant, rancher and pioneer in grass-finished beef production at Dixon Ranches Leo Unit from 9am to 4pm on May 31. During an in-field discussion, he will also share his perspectives on soil health, adaptive multi-paddock grazing and forage management, high attribute pasture-based meat production, and alternative marketing systems.

The workshop is co-hosted by Dixon Water Foundation and the Noble Foundation. Registration is $15. To register and view the complete schedule for the workshop, visit the Noble Foundation’s website.

Williams is a 6th generation family farmer and founding partner of Grass Fed Beef LCC and Grass Fed Insights LLC, and a partner in Joyce Farms, Inc. He has consulted with more than 4,000 farmers and ranchers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South America on operations ranging from a few acres to more than one million acres. Williams pioneered many of the early grass-fed protocols and forage finishing techniques, and has spent the last 15 years refining them.

 

Texas Wildlife Association programs at Dixon Ranches

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Texas Wildlife Association L.A.N.D.S. recently held outdoor education programs at Dixon Ranches Leo and Bear Creek units. In December, AP Environmental Science students from Fort Worth Country Day School learned about wildlife tracking, watershed health, and other conservation topics at the Josey Pavilion. McLean Middle School students visited Bear Creek for a field day at the end of November. We are grateful to our education partners like TWA  for using our ranches to put young Texans more in touch with their local ecosystem.

TWA LANDS at the Josey Pavilion in December 2016

TWA LANDS at Bear Creek

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TWA LANDS at Bear Creek

Treading West Texas Waters now online

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“Treading West Texas Waters,” a 30-minute documentary about regional water issues, is now available online through Basin PBS. Dixon Water Foundation President Robert Potts features prominently in the documentary, an original production by Chris Hillen and Joe Cashiola for Basin PBS. The documentary looks at the state of water resources in West Texas, how different parts of the region are dealing with water scarcity, and possible pathways forward through water conversation and management.

More international accolades for the Josey Pavilion

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The Betty and Clint Josey Pavilion has been honored with an American Architecture Award from the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design. The Josey Pavilion is the state’s first Living Building, the most advanced measure of sustainability in the built environment. Since 1994, The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design, together with The European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies and Metropolitan Arts Press, have organized The American Architecture Awards to honor the best, new significant buildings and landscape and planning projects designed or built in the United States and abroad by the most important American architects, landscape architects, and urban planners practicing nationally and internationally and International architects and designers practicing inside the USA.

Pavilion officially certified as Living Building

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The Betty and Clint Josey Pavilion is now officially a certified Living Building, following a year-long rigorous performance evaluation. Lake|Flato architects donated more than 1,500 hours in designing this project. Their work was recognized recently by Public Architecture’s 1+ program, which connects non-profit organizations with pro bono architecture services. Public Architecture published an excellent overview of the pavilion in a new case study.

 

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Pavilion receives AIA environment award

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The Betty and Clint Josey Pavilion is among the prestigious AIA Committee on the Environment’s (COTE’s) Top Ten award winners, as reported by Architectural Record. Designed by Lake|Flato, the pavilion was recently certified as Texas’s first Living Building. The education and event center on Dixon Ranches Leo Unit has received several other honors, including the 2015 Architizer A+ Award for Architecture + Sustainability, the 2015 Texas Society of Architects Design Award, and the 2014 AIA San Antonio Design Award.

 

Riparian workshop at Alamito Creek on April 13

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The first Chihuahuan Desert Riparian and Pond Management Workshop will be held at on April 13 at the the Dixon Water Foundation’s Alamito Creek Preserve. This workshop is a collaboration between the foundation and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Sul Ross State University, Borderlands Research Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Nature Conservancy.

Registration is set from 8:30-9 a.m. at the Marfa National Bank, 301 S. Highland Ave. in Marfa. At 9:15 a.m. participants will caravan to the Alamito Creek Preserve for the remainder of the workshop.

“This workshop will be fast-paced and held in the field on rough terrain and walking to various sites will be required,” said Jesse Lea Schneider, AgriLife Extension agent in Presidio County and a workshop coordinator.

She said proper dress, for example sturdy shoes and a hat, are a must.

“Please bring your own lunch and plenty of water,” she said. “In the event of inclement weather, the workshop will be rescheduled.

“Our Chihuahuan Desert Riparian areas are some of the most misunderstood and underappreciated of the ecosystems. Our hope is to make this an annual event to bring educational opportunities to landowners and enthusiasts across the area.”

Individual registration is $10. RSVP by April 11 by calling 432-295-0342.

Topics and speakers include:

– Introduction to Dixon Water Foundation, Alamito Creek Preserve, Robert Potts, Dixon Water Foundation president and CEO, Presidio County.

– Pond Ecology and Fish Stocking, Peter Woods, AgriLife Extension fisheries program specialist, Bay City.

– Riparian Vegetation and Best Management Practices and Ecohydrology of Streams and Springs, Jeff Bennett, National Park Service physical scientist and hydrologist, Big Bend National Park.

– Linking Pasture to Stream, Dr. Alyson McDonald, AgriLife Extension range specialist, Fort Stockton.

– Grazing Riparian Zones, Dr. Bonnie Warnock, Sul Ross State University professor, Alpine.

– Water and Wildlife, Benefits and Nuisance Control, Dr. John Tomecek, AgriLife Extension wildlife specialist, San Angelo.

– Waterfowl and Wetland Management in Desert Landscapes, Dr. Ryan O’Shaughnessy, Sul Ross assistant professor.

– Farm Bill Programs, Carrie Koennecke, Natural Resources Conservation Service district conservationist, Marfa.

– Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Landowner Incentive Program and U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, Arleen Kalmback, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department landowner incentive program coordinator, Austin.

– Experiences From a Land Manager, Chase McRory, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department district biologist, Sanderson, and Casey Wade, Dixon Water Foundation manager, Presidio County.

For more information, call Russell Martin, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department natural resource specialist, Alpine, at 432-837-2051, ext. 228 or Schneider at 442-295-0342.

Alamito Creek Preserve

 

NORTH TEXAS OFFICE

4528 County Road 398
Decatur, TX 76234

WEST TEXAS OFFICE

P.O. Box 177
Marfa, TX 79843

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