Amanda Dugan

Some of the endangered Texas wild rice in the San Marcos River may be moved within the next couple of years. Amanda Dugan has more in this Bobcat Update.
Texas State University and the City of San Marcos are in talks to restore the Sessom's Creek watershed. The project will decrease the amount of dirt found at the bottom of the San Marcos River. The dirt builds up after filtering down from the university's property and into Sessom's Creek. The restoration of the water shed will be a multi-million dollar project and will take anywhere from 10-15 years to complete. Forty percent of the water shed is owned by Texas State and the rest is owned by San Marcos. Funds required for the restoration will come from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies. Once the watershed is completed, the university, the San Marcos community and the U-S Fish and Wildlife services will look into dredging the river as the next step. Not everyone agrees that this is a good idea. [Let the CG identify the speaker.]
SB: I don't think it's necessary. What's here is here, it's apart of the river and Sewell Park.
Dredging the river will require transplanting some of the endangered Texas wild rice that grows there. The rice may be moved to other parts of the river or to the National Fish Hatchery for further research. Director of the Aquatics Station at Texas State, Tim Bonner, says moving the rice would benefit the river and community.
SB: Once able to minimize the amount of sediment in the river. That would allow us, working with U.S. Fish and Wildlife. ....Transplant those Texas wild rice elsewhere, so that it is a more recreational area for students.
Bonner and the scientific community feel that this would help the river prosper and would not hurt any of the endangered wild rice.
Standup: Dredging some of the wild rice in the San Marcos river will cause water levels to rise. Making river recreation easier and more enjoyable. For Bobcat Update, I'm Amanda Dugan
[I sure hope you have plenty of B-Roll.]