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The Rio Grande Research Center was established by Sul Ross State University in 2004 to foster biological, geological, agricultural and environmental research in the Rio Grande Basin. The Center is responsible for the administration of the Sustainable Agricultural Water Conservation Research Project, a special grant funded through the USDA - Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.
Mission / Goal
Project Overview /Scope
Current Participating Universities & Collaborators
Background
Far West Texas demographic trends clearly indicate an escalating competition for all natural resources, specifically water. Developing a transboundary water management plan for the sustainable use of the Rio Grande remains an elusive goal with significant economic and ecosystem implications for both the United States and Mexico. Current water use policies are not sustainable over time. The Rio Grande Basin has been radically altered by intentional engineered means that affect watershed ecology in dimensions that are incompletely understood. Natural flood and drought cycles have changed, and the scientific and professional communities are engaged in a serious debate about the causes and the effects of these observed climate changes.
The once might Rio Grande has been humbled by humans, and current water use practices and priorities are a potential trigger for social, political and economic conflict. Our research and intergovernmental collaboration is focused on developing a proper Basin-wide diagnosis (Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis) that leads to the development of a total water management plan. This Basin-wide plan will address total water use sustainability: agricultural, social, economic, environmental and urban water use patterns.
Rio Grande Research Center Objectives
The Center has four primary objectives: (1) creating a basin-wide perspective for the sustainable use of water resources within the bi-national Rio Grande watershed; (2) administrative support and project headquarters for the SAWC research program; (3) intergovernmental, academic, and stakeholder collaboration; and, (4) outreach and education about the sustainable use of natural resources.
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Contact
Rawles Williams
Research Facilitator
(432) 837-9021
Kevin Urbanczyk
Project Director
(432) 837-8110
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Sul Ross State University
