Texas A&M University Galveston Campus’ Post

In Oregon, water is everything: it supports our fish and wildlife, it’s our most important economic asset and it’s critical for healthy communities. Despite its importance, it’s a poorly understood resource—and this is even more true for groundwater. Learn more: https://nature.ly/43g12x4

#DYK forested land provides the drinking water for nearly half of the population of the continental United States? Forests act as natural filters, purifying water as it flows through roots. Water purification is one of many reasons why protecting our forests is critical - learn more about the benefits of forest conservation: https://bit.ly/45tHZR6

Wetlands around the world are disappearing at 3X the rate of forests. From stream to shore and wetland to tap, our wetlands are worth fighting for! A promising move from the White House to protect our wetlands and streams! Read more: https://ow.ly/CWYs50RmqKp Together, we can make a lasting impact on wetlands conservation. #cleanwater4all #protectourwaters

The PrintReleaf Standard shows our commitment to restoration and conservation efforts, to grow into forests that will last generations. Learn more about our twofold certification process for reforestation. https://hubs.li/Q02jVBwv0

Today is World Wetlands Day. We are fortunate to live in such a biodiverse region full of wetlands. Read more about the importance of protecting these vital spaces from Watersheds Canada

Forest thinning, vital for wildfire risk reduction, may impact snowpack and water supply. Research in the Eastern Cascades emphasizes the need for balanced forest management to preserve water resources. Thinning could affect water quantity, especially in north-facing forests, highlighting the importance of considering both wildfire risk and water conservation. https://lnkd.in/gtTRQi44

The Whooping crane is one of Texas’s most beloved birds – but also among the most endangered of our state’s species. After coordinated efforts brought them back from the brink of extinction, these majestic birds are once again threatened, this time by sea level rise. Texas’s coastal salt marshes provide critical habitat to Whoopers, but these marshes will be largely wiped out by accelerating sea level rise. BCarbon’s recent white paper on the bundling of Whooping crane conservation and carbon credits proposes a solution: constructing living shorelines, financed by carbon credit revenue, to protect and preserve the crane’s habitat. You can read the paper here: https://lnkd.in/edQveR7q

Today, February 2nd is Wetlands Day. So what are Wetlands and why are they important? Up to us to educate ourselves. Here a 2 min brief. On 30 August 2021 the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 75/317 that established 2 February as World Wetlands Day. According to the World Wetlands Day website: "Wetlands are land areas that are saturated or flooded with water either permanently or seasonally. Inland wetlands: Marshes, lakes, rivers, floodplains, peatlands and swamps  Coastal wetlands: Saltwater marshes, estuaries, mangroves, lagoons and coral reefs Human-made wetlands: Fish ponds, rice paddies and salt pans" They are very important for biodiversity, flood and erosion control, to name a few benefits, part of this ecosystem we all share. https://lnkd.in/gMUUvzza

As the Watershed Coordinator for the Upper S. Platte Partnership, I often get asked by the community, "what is a watershed?" It's all the land that drains into a stream or body of water. Healthy watersheds are vital for safe drinking water, which is reliant on health forests and functioning ecosystems. That is the focus of the Upper S. Platte Partnership within our watershed. 80% of Denver's drinking water and 90% of Aurora city water flows directly through the Upper S. Platte watershed. Together, that is about 1/3 the state's population in just two cities. Beyond there are all the farms, ranchlands, and other communities even further downstream that receive the benefit, too, of the work in the upper mountains where this collaborative partnership works towards healthy forest ecosystem goals. The S. Platte River is a ribbon of life connecting it all! Read more about the importance of healthy forest for safe drinking water with the Colorado State Forest Service's post about World Water Day!

In this BCarbon white paper, Lalise Mason and I have proposed multiple living shoreline projects to protect the coastal marshes on the mid Texas coast that are the wintering grounds of the last wild flock of the endangered whooping cranes. These marshes are threatened by sea level rise which will drown and erode these marshes if we don’t act, and we need creative solutions to protect this land and ensure the future of whooping cranes. We believe that the construction of living shorelines is the key to protecting these marshes from erosion and by capturing sediment more efficiently. The proposal is to issue carbon credits for protecting the carbon stored in these marsh sediments and for the continued annual drawdown of carbon dioxide into the marsh. To this end, BCarbon has developed a carbon credit protocol for issuing credits for protecting coastal wetlands. What we need now is for buyers to step up and say they are interested in purchasing these carbon credits. The project developers are ready when the buyers are ready. And the long-term fate of the whoopers is a stake.