Registration Fee: $27

Equipment and Attire: Attendee equipment needs: hiking boots, appropriate clothing, sun screen, insect repellent, hat, water bottle. Be prepared for hiking in variable weather conditions (very hot and sunny to rain), challenging terrain with numerous tripping hazards and driving many miles off-road in some of the most rugged, sensitive and beautiful land in the Austin area.

Itinerary: Itinerary 8:00am Gather at ESA Conference Center 8:30am Leave for Onion Creek Management Unit 9:30am Arrive HWY 150 gate to Onion Creek Management Unit 10:00 -10:30am Visit Prairie Road area and discuss ecological restoration of prairie savanna, prescribed fire, native grass seeding, invasive species research, karst development from shallow sinkholes to developed sinkhole. 10:30 – 11:15am Visit Crippled Crawfish Cave complex (if wet) Crooked Oak complex (if dry) discuss dye trace results, Recharge Zone function, water quality vs. water quantity, drainage area for swallets. 11:30-12:00 noon Lunch/bathroom stop at Onion House. The history of the Onion Creek Mgmt Unit, from 101 Ranch to platted subdivision to conservation area. 12:00-2:00pm Travel across Little Bear and Lower Bear Creek Management Unit Savanna restoration research. Plans for Violet Crown trail. 2:00 – 3:00pm Visit Flint Ridge cave on the Upper Bear Creek Management Unit Infrastructure dissection of property, suburbanization, WUI, trail,highly sensitive site, internal drainage basin, conservation activities in such an area. 3:00 – 4:00pm Drive to top of Baker Mountain on Slaughter Creek Mgmt Unit Stakeholder process, trail development/management arrangement, encircled property, challenges of conservation activities. 4:00 – 4:30pm Arrive at Barton Springs, view the end of the dye trace and the exceptional natural feature that catalyzed the WQPL. 4:45pm Arrive at Austin Convention Center