Commission Agenda Item No. 8
Presenter: Tim Birdsong

Briefing
Guadalupe Bass Restoration Initiative
January 27, 2011

I.       Executive Summary:  Staff will brief the Commission on a collaborative, watershed-scale conservation initiative in the Llano River Watershed focused on restoring Guadalupe bass, other native species, and their habitats.

II.     Discussion:  In an effort to focus and coordinate actions to conserve stream ecosystems in the Edwards Plateau Ecoregion, TPWD and partners have developed a new National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Keystone Initiative.  This new Keystone Initiative aims to guide approximately $13M over the next 10 years toward stream protection and restoration projects that address conservation issues affecting the long-term sustainability of the State Fish of Texas, Guadalupe bass Micropterus treculii.  Phase I of this Keystone Initiative is currently underway in the headwaters of the Llano River where TPWD and partners are working to address factors leading to declines in Guadalupe bass populations, including flow alteration, loss of watershed connectivity, instream and riparian habitat degradation, and hybridization.  This presentation will highlight specific conservation strategies being implemented through the Keystone Initiative and discuss progress towards identified conservation targets.