By Eleni Himaras
reporter@ltview.com

Wal-Mart donated $250,000 to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to support restoration of the Colorado River Basin Watershed, the source of Lake Travis. 

While the Lower Colorado River Authority does not know how much of the donation it will receive, all of the money, along with the government funding from cost-matching initiatives, will go towards its Creekside Conservation Program.

The program, which has been in operation for 18 years, provides incentives to landowners who wish to complete a watershed conservation project on their own land by paying half the cost up to $20,000. 

“Texas is largely privately owned. They’re stewards of their own land. A lot of them depend on it to make a living and if they don’t they depend on it for other things,” said Program Coordinator Bobby Humphrey. “A lot of times the only thing holding them back is money. This isn’t going to pay for all of it but it’s an incentive.”

Projects LCRA typically sponsors involve brush control, vegetative buffers along waterways, slope stabilization, field terracing, range reseeding, land shaping and rotational grazing systems. 

The need for these efforts comes in large part from the invasion of non-native plants to the ecosystem, said LCRA General Manager Tom Mason.

“It forces out the native vegetation, uses more water than the native plants and provides no food for the animals,” he said. 

“I heard a statistic one time that when rain falls on a cedar tree, 80 percent never reaches the ground.”

By participating in the program, landowners not only help the ecosystem, but also make their own land more productive. Humphrey said the authority tries to keep control of the program localized. Interested landowners must contact their local Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) with their needs and plan. 

That office will then pass its recommendations on to the local Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD), who in turn passes it up to the LCRA for final approval.

For Lake Travis area residents, this means contacting the Austin NRCS office at 459-1623. They fall under the jurisdiction of the Caldwell-Travis SWCD 304, located in Lockhart, which can be reached at 398-2121.

While there is only one Wal-Mart in the South Lake Travis area, near the intersection of RR 620 and RR 2222, there are more Wal-Marts and Sam’s Clubs in Texas than in any other state. 

“Water is a very important issue for Wal-Mart. Their stores use a lot of water and sell a lot of water,” said Dick Davis, executive director of Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation. “This will help to offset their water footprint.”

Wal-Mart regional manager Ron Acosta said that this, in addition to simply wanting to help the environment and their community, is why Wal-Mart decided to get involved. 

“It’s like he said. Our stores do use a lot of water and our distribution centers sell a lot of water, this is a major focus for us,” Acosta said.