EDWARDS AQUIFER,3: Why endangered species matter ... 
ahead on Passport to Texas.

Passport to Texas with support from the WSFR Program 

The underlying concept of the Edwards Aquifer Habitat 
Conservation Plan is simple: do what's necessary to ensure 
the survival of rare, threatened and endangered species - 
that depend on the Aquifer and the San Marcos and Comal 
Rivers - while permitting continued use of the resource by 
human constituents. 

06 -- There's federal law requiring this, but it's the right thing to 
do in terms of protecting the resource for all of us into the future.

Cindy Loeffler is water resources branch chief at TPW and 
one of the architects of the protection plan. Convincing 
people to do the right thing - like modifying their usage of 
the resource based on the needs of rare species - can be a 
hard sell.

The plan includes ongoing water conservation -especially 
during times of drought - removing invasive species, and 
declaring a portion of the San Marcos River a state 
scientific area that would make it illegal to uproot 
endangered Texas Wild Rice.

But Loeffler says these protected species are indicators of 
a healthy ecosystem - which benefits everyone.

21 -- By providing these protections for these species, that helps 
ensure the San Marcos river, the Comal River will keep flowing. 
Keeping these springs flowing is really at the heart and soul of 
the work done by the recovery implementation program. And so 
that benefits the species, of course, but also benefits people as 
well.

Find a link to the plan's website at passporttotexas.org.

The WSFR program ... supports our series and funds diverse 
conservation projects throughout Texas ... 

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti. 

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