Site Profile - Demographic Characterization

• County tax roles
• UTMSI visitors
• Number of tourist
• Salt water stamp sales
• Hotel/motel tax
• Natural Heritage data (The Nature Conservancy)
• Building permit revenues
• Census
• School enrollment (dropout/completion rates)
• Texas Natural Resource Information System (aerial photos)
• Rockport water sampling group
• Fishing license/guide sales
• Fishing abundance, harvest and pressure data
• Agricultural increment Reports
• Texas Demographic Center
• Water quality data (TCEQ)

Breakout Session: Issues associated with human driven change
What are the biggest issues and concerns related to human-driven change in the Coastal Bend?

Issues identified by breakout group M (facilitated by Zac Hart) are shown in black and issues identified by breakout group A (facilitated by Tom Fish) are shown in blue. Participants were asked to prioritize their top five issue. The issues were prioritized by assigning a 5 to the most important issue and a 1 to the least important issue of their top five. Each issue was then summed so that those issues with the highest number of votes received the highest priority and vice versa. Some issues received the same number of votes and were therefore given the same priority value. The top five priorities were then discussed in detail. Facilitator note: Breakout group M voted on priorities opposite from breakout group A by assigning a 1 to the most important issue and a 5 to the least important issue of their top five. Sally Morehead reversed this ranking to match that of the breakout group A. The final priority order for breakout group M is the same after this reverse because the original ranking from breakout group M took into account the total number of votes.

Breakout Session: Information or research ideas
What are the information or research questions related to the top prioritized items?

Conversion of Native Habitat (Breakout group M, Priority 1)
Economic viability relies on protecting habitat. The city of Rockport is currently dealing with this issue.
1) Identify and prioritize critical habitat
     a. Use a standardized method
2) Criteria should include:
     a. Ecological function
     b. Rarity of habitats
     c. Species of concern dependence on habitats
3) Useful information sources include:
     a. Universities
     b. Resource agencies (USFWS, TPWD, GLO permit service center, etc...)
     c. Non-governmental agencies (CBBF, CCA, CBBEP, etc...)
     d. Google
     e. Impacts as reported from local newspapers
     f. Resource agencies workshops
     g. Listserves
     h. Conservation magazines
     i. TPWD artificial reef program
     j. MMS and their continental shelf studies and publications on website
     k. Surfrider Foundation

Maintaining Bay Water Quality (Breakout group A, Priority 1)
Baseline water quality information is needed. Water quality also includes change in chemical composition of stormwater runoff and increasing runoff from impervious surfaces.
Develop a water quality monitoring inventory that determines:
1) Where are we currently monitoring?
2) Who is monitoring?
     a. NERR Systemwide Monitoring Program
     b. TCOON
     c. TCEQ
     d. TDH
3) What is being collected?
4) Where should we monitor? (This varies according to agency)
5) What are some data sources?
     a. Agencies
     b. Students
     c. Academia
8) Who's currently doing ecosystem valuation for water quality
     a. Harte Research Institute

Public Apathy and Lack of Awareness (Breakout group M, Priority 2)
1) Determine level of public awareness
     a. Workshops
     b. Advertise with internet, local newspaper, post on board
     c. Surveys

2) Develop programs that:
     a. Heavily involve resources agencies
     b. Make it “cool” and socially acceptable
     c. Relate water quality and habitats to hobbies
     d. Reach a wider audience and target more people
     e. Enlist and engage volunteers (companies offer incentives for employees to volunteer)
     f. Engage high school students (colleges look at community service hours)
     g. Show an emotional link to ecosystem (how it affect where you live)
     h. Bring your “kids” to work
     i. Offer incentives
3) Increase participation in coastal expos, TPWD interactive activities, earth day bay day, beach cleanups, crab trap cleanup

Loss of Coastal Community Charm (Breakout group A, Priority 2)
1) Establish common definition
     a. Impact of Change on the Tourism Industry
     b. Loss of Viewscape
     c. Impact of outside developers on local communities
2) Quality of life surveys
     a. Differentiate across locals, visitors, winter Texans, developers, realtors
3) What are the architectural and aesthetic features that define/depict coastal bend?
4) What makes it unique?
5) Can consumers discriminate between real and fake?
6) What special foods/culinary features exist?
7) Characterize tourism activities:
     a. Why do they come?
     b. Where are they from?
     c. Which activities do they participate?
     d. # 1 industry in majority of NERR

Education of Elected Officials about Coastal Issues (Breakout group A, Priority 2)
1) Baseline of whom? What? Where? When? How?
     a. Education of the public on environmental preservation.
     b. Education of public on landscape design practices
     c. Making conservation education opportunities for youth
2) Education service provider resources (inventory)
3) Get different organizations together to collaborate
4) Develop/collect data to share across state in a form similar to economic indicators (i.e. livestock, oil and gas, agriculture, etc.)

Natural Resource Pressures (Breakout group M, Priority 3)
1) Develop programs that increase and involve community support and awareness
2) Determine economic valuation of natural resources
     a. Include data that incorporated inflated values
     b. Be specific in temporal scope (short-term and long-term)
lack of understanding
3) Dissemination of information
     a. USFWS habitat programs with municipalities
     b. Good partnership opportunities
     c. Make public aware
     d. Case studies of successful partnerships
4) Enlist government listen to and apply public knowledge
     a. Local government needs a more active role in encouraging good or stopping bad development
5) Increase coordination among stakeholders

Lack of Development Controls Outside City Limits (Breakout group M, Priority 3)
1) Develop a guide for local regulations and mandates

Freshwater inflow into estuary (ecological effects) (Breakout group A, Priority 3)
Look beyond coastal bend boundaries (larger scale). Note that mitigation may require litigation.
1) What is necessary/adequate water inflow for which ecological functions? What scale?
2) What cause and effects?
3) What new problems are created by solving other problems?
4) How does this vary by dry-wet season/year? Temp? Location?
5) What land use management practices up-river are affecting freshwater inflow?

Other details on issues identified from Breakout Group A:
Maintaining/Enhancing Infrastructure (Breakout group A, Priority 4)
     • More Hike and Bike Trails/Pedestrian walkways
     • Increased Commute Times
     • Maintaining Access to ecosystems/resources with minimal impact
     • Lack of greenspace
Changes in Land Use (12)
     • Loss of Habitat
     • Loss of critical Dune areas
Biodiversity Conservation w/ whooping crane as a symbol (11)
     • Invasive Species
Coastal Erosion (4)
     • Subsidence
     • Sediment Replacement
Resilience to coastal hazards (5)
     • Emergency Planning for Natural Disasters
     • Ability to Timely evacuate population (during hurricanes)
Economic diversity (2)
     • Loss of Commercial Fishing Industry
     • Impacts to Resource-Dependent Industries

HUMAN DIMENSION REGIONAL ROUNDTABLE