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Your Monthly News & Updates
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NRCS Funding, Technical Assistance Webinar - January 4
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides a variety of post-Harvey resources for agricultural producers and municipal organizations, ranging from technical assistance to financial support for a variety of production recovery, land conservation, and erosion mitigation projects.
H-GAC will host a webinar from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
Thursday, January 4, about three NRCS programs. NRCS representatives will discuss details of each program, application criteria, and other key information for applicants.
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USDA Office of Rural Development Webinar - January 10
The
Office of Rural Development of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides a variety of programs for rural businesses, residents, and municipalities through grants and loans.
H-GAC will host a webinar from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday, January 10, with
the Office of Rural Development to discuss how these resources can be used for Hurricane Harvey recovery. The webinar will also provide information on eligibility requirements and the application process.
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Revitalization Roundtable - January 23
Save the date for the next
Bringing Back Main Street Roundtable from 9:30 a.m. to noon
Tuesday, January 23, at Liedertafel Hall, 116 Lux Road, Sealy. Isabel Longoria, Associate State Director for the AARP, will lead discussion on age-friendly planning and design for the region.
These roundtables help local governments, chambers of commerce, and economic development interests promote the economy and revitalization of downtown areas.
For more information, contact
Clint McManus at 832-681-2513.
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Texas Stream Team Training - February 16
A Texas Stream Team Phase I and II training will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Friday, February 16, at Sea Center Texas, 302 Medical Drive, Lake Jackson.
This training is for volunteers in the Brazos-Colorado River Basin, San Jacinto-Brazos River Basin, or the Bastrop Bayou Watershed Protection Plan area.
Registration is required, and the class is limited to 20 volunteers.
Learn more about H-GAC's Texas Stream Team three-phase training program
online. For more information, email
Stream.Team@h-gac.com.
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Regional Recycling Roundtable - February 22
The topic is electronics recycling, and presentations include
How to Hold a Repair Cafe (Green Building
Resource Center) and
Houston Computer Works (Goodwill and Dell).
H-GAC hosts quarterly Regional Recycling Roundtables to promote recycling and waste reduction and provide a forum for discussion about recycling issues within the region.
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25th Trash Bash - March 24
Since the cleanup event began, 105,800 volunteers have cleaned up
2,189 tons of trash, 10,709 tires, and 16.3 tons of recycling along 1,446 miles of shoreline.
Thousands of volunteers will meet at 14 locations across the Galveston Bay Watershed on March 24. Volunteers get t-shirts, supplies, lunch, and chances to win prizes. Educational exhibits and displays provide a chance to learn more about waterways. Cleanup locations and registration information is available
online.
There's still time to support the largest single-day waterway cleanup in Texas this year by becoming a
Trash Bash sponsor. The deadline is
Wednesday, January 31.
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H-GAC Releases 2017 Regional Growth Forecast
H-GAC released its 2017 annual regional growth forecast estimates on December 6, 2017. The release includes data on population and jobs down to the Transportation Analysis Zone (TAZ) and Census Tract level. It also includes data on current and future parcel land use. The data is available for download, as well as for display as maps and tables.
More information is available online.
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H-GAC Releases 2017 County Profiles
H-GAC recently released a 2017 update of the
County Profiles for the 13-county H-GAC region. Originally developed in 2013 as part of the
Our Great Region 2040 planning effort, these profiles contain information on population, housing, employment, education, health, the environment, and transportation.
The
2017 County Profiles provide demographic data to help county leaders identify needs and opportunities and better tell their stories through data.
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H-GAC Announces Parks, Natural Areas Award Winners
H-GAC is pleased to announce the winners of the
2017 Parks and Natural Areas Awards. Projects are honored in four categories: Policy Tools, Planning Process, Projects Over $500,000, and Projects Under $500,000.
Policy Tools
Winner: Dr. Ned & Fay Dudney Clear Creek Nature Center Management Plan (City of League City)
Planning Process
Winner:
Josey Lake Park (Howard Hughes Corporation-Bridgeland)
Honorable Mention:
Seabourne Creek Park Nature Center (City of Rosenberg)
Projects Over $500,000
Winner:
Kickerillo-Mischer Preserve (Harris County Precinct 4)
Winner:
Yolanda Black Navarro Buffalo Bend Nature Park (Harris County Precinct 2)
Honorable Mention: Brazos River Park (City of Sugar Land)
Special Recognition:
- Galveston Island Historic Seawall Beach Renourishment Project (Galveston Park Board of Trustees)
- Japanese Garden Restoration (Hermann Park Conservancy)
- Patrick's Bayou Stormwater Detention Basin (Harris County Flood Control District)
Projects Under $500,000
Winner: MD Anderson Prairie (MD Anderson Cancer Center)
Honorable Mention: Windmill Aeration at Baytown Nature Center's Golden Bloom Pond (City of Baytown)
Special Recognition:
- Explore the Wild (Houston Zoo)
- Nature Observation Area at National Oak Park (City of Alvin)
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Our Great Region 2040 Award Winners
H-GAC presented the
Our Great Region Awards in early December to recognize outstanding local projects covering transportation, the environment, economic development, resiliency, housing, and healthy communities.
- The Excellence Award - Harris County Public Health for the City of Pasadena Safe Routes to Schools Initiative. This award, the highest honor, recognizes the project best advancing the vision of the Our Great Region 2040 plan.
- The Connection Award - City of Houston for the City of Houston Bike Plan. This award honors projects advancing two or more of the Our Great Region 2040 plan's strategies through innovative partnerships.
- The Diligence Award - Bay City Community Development Corporation for the Bay City North Downtown Plan. This award honors an implemented project executing a creative and tenacious approach to overcome challenges to implementation.
- The Opportunity Award - Rosenberg Parks and Recreation for the Seabourne Creek Park Nature Center. This award honors a project helping to overcome disparities in access to opportunity.
- The Reach Award - The Woodlands Joint Powers Agency for the Defined Irrigation Schedule. This award honors a project demonstrating exemplary public participation.
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The 2045 Regional Transportation Plan:
What to Expect in 2018
Communicating regular updates about the 2045 RTP (Regional Transportation Plan) and receiving public feedback is imperative for the development of an effective plan. Comments received in the planning process are considered and incorporated into deliberations regarding proposed projects.
The RTP is a guiding document that sets multimodal transportation investment priorities for the region. It has an impact on all residents who face daily transportation challenges.
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Scenic City Certification Program
The
Scenic City Certification Program
, a project of Scenic Texas in cooperation with H-GAC, Texas Municipal League, and additional partners, accepts applications through March each year. The program supplies cities an objective review of existing infrastructure ordinances for public roadways and public spaces, evaluated against the Scenic City model.
RecycleMania Collegiate Recycling Competition
RecycleMania
, a collegiate recycling competition, kicks off in February, and
registration
is open now. A webinar highlighting rules, including how schools should track and report weight data, and an overview of the new system for reviewing results will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday, January 31.
Keep Texas Beautiful Awards
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Audubon Christmas Bird Count
The
Audubon Christmas Bird Count continues through
Friday, January 5. Organized by the National Audubon Society, this global, all-volunteer effort collects data on local bird populations. Individual counts are open to birders of all levels, and there is no fee to participate. Several
events are scheduled across the region.
Texas Watershed Steward Workshop
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, and H-GAC will host a
Texas Watershed Steward workshop from 1 to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, January 17, at the Don McLeod Recreation Center, 10717 Langston Drive, Mont Belvieu. The workshop will include a discussion of watershed systems, types and sources of water pollution, and ways to improve and protect water quality. There also will be a group discussion on community-driven watershed protection and management. More information, including preregistration, is available
online or by contacting
Tyler Fitzgerald at 409-374-2123.
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
The Citizens' Environmental Coalition will host the
Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour on
January 24 and 25. The two-night event will be at Rice University Media Center, 2030 University Blvd., Houston.
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Community and Environmental Planning Programs
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Mapping Applications
Looking for interactive applications or GIS data related to the H-GAC Community and Environmental Planning Department? Visit H-GAC's interactive applications web page to see the latest information, including Census, Regional Forecast, and more.
Facebook
Find the latest information about activities around the region at H-GAC's Twitter feed
@hgaccog. H-GAC's water resources program also offers Twitter updates on water quality issues in the region, including fish consumption advisories,
@HGACwater.
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Happy New Year from the staff of the Community and Environmental Planning Department at the Houston-Galveston Area Council.
Would you like us to consider featuring your municipality, program, or regional photo on the C&E Planning Update banner? Just forward
Andrea Tantillo
your picture, along with some information about the subject and the photographer, and you might see it in a future month's newsletter.
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