"Did you know that you and everyone around you live in a watershed? A watershed is an area of land that water flows across, through or under as it drains into a stream, river, lake, ocean or other body of water," said Lampasas County Extension Agent Jason Byrd.

"Because we all live in a watershed, things we do at home and where we work and play can affect water quality and the health of our watershed."

Byrd said in Texas alone, nearly 92 percent of the streams, rivers and lakes are impacted by some form of water pollution.

What can be done? "Protecting water quality begins with you and those in your community," Byrd said. And, there is help to get started. The Texas Watershed Steward program is a new one-day training event sponsored by the Texas AgriLife Extension Service and the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board.

It is designed to help watershed residents improve and protect their water resources by getting involved in local watershed protection and management activities.

Texas watershed stewards learn about watershed systems, water quality regulation and monitoring, methods to improve water quality and community-driven watershed protection and management.

Training also provides basic knowledge and tools needed to form a watershed action group, participate in and organize local watershed activities, and become more involved in protecting and enhancing a community water resources.

The next training event will take place in Lampasas County, which is home to the Lampasas River Watershed.

The area of land drains water to the Lampasas River, a 75-mile stretch of water that flows to Salado Creek and the Leon River, before forming the Little River.

The Lampasas River is widely used for fishing and other types of recreation, and provides valuable habitat for many types of aquatic plants and animals.

Development pressures, land-use changes and other impacts have created water quality concerns for the river.

The TSSWCB, Texas AgriLife Research and other local stakeholders, are working on a plan to improve the water quality in the Lampasas River watershed.

"You can be a part of the solution by attending this event," said Byrd.

Program participants will receive a free day of education and training, a free copy of the Texas Watershed Steward Curriculum Handbook, free prizes and gifts, and a certificate of completion.

In addition, the program will provide a total of seven AICP certificate maintenance credits for certified planners, seven TBPE Continuing Education Program hours for professional engineers, seven Continuing Education Units (Soil and Water Management) for Certified Crop Advisors, seven SBEC Continuing Professional Education credits for certified teachers, and three Continuing Education Units (general) for TDA Pesticide License holders.

The training program will be held in Lampasas on Sept. 25 from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Lampasas County Farm Bureau, 1793 N. U.S. Hwy. 281.

Pre-registration is open and required for participation.

"Texas Watershed Stewards is a great opportunity to get involved and make a difference in your watershed," added Byrd.

For more information or to preregister, visit the Texas Watershed Steward website at http://tws.- tamu.edu or contact Jennifer Peterson at (979) 862-8072 or jlpeterson@ag.tamu.edu.