Howdy Ags!

I'm Roel Lopez, director for the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute (NRI) at Texas A&M AgriLife. If you own rural land or are interested in learning more about healthy working lands, join me at the Corpus Christi Omni Hotel on Tuesday, Aug. 20. Texas A&M AgriLife will be hosting an event to share about our work and hear your opinions related to the sustainability of these important landscapes.

South Texas is defined by its rich ranching and agricultural history, open landscapes and vibrant communities. Preserving rural lands in this region is critical to ensure the culture, economy and environment continue to thrive for generations to come.

Many of the challenges South Texans face infrastructure, education, and water resources stem from flourishing metro areas leading the state in growth. Renewable energy is also continuing to expand in South Texas, providing many benefits to the state; however, continued development also poses conflicts, such as land-use compatibility issues between wind turbine placement and military training areas.

Brokering solutions to complicated natural resource challenges through better communication and understanding between stakeholders is the focus of many AgriLife and NRI programs. These efforts are key to supporting and building resilient rural communities.

Other topics we'll cover on August 20:
-Private Land Stewardship
-Border Security
-Land Demography
-Water Resources
-Wildlife Conservation
-Legal issues impacting Texas landowners, such as leases, water law, oil and gas law, pipeline easement negotiation and landowner liability

Please visit www.Agrilife.org/AdvancingTexas/RSVP to let us know you're coming.

See you there,
Roel

Roel Lopez, Ph.D.
Director, Texas A&M NRI