University of Texas at Austin
OP-10: Biodiversity
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
0.50 / 1.00 |
Jim
Walker Director of Sustainability, Financial, and Administrative Services University Operations |
Does the institution own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, or regions of conservation importance?:
A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:
Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify endangered and vulnerable species (including migratory species) with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution?:
A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:
Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:
A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:
The UT Austin Waller Creek Research Group gathers historical and current information on Waller Creek. We provide a historic perspective on Waller Creek by developing a readily accessible archive of drainage-wide information on the Waller Creek watershed including the section running through the UT Austin campus. Through our field research, we work with multiple stakeholders to better understand basic processes affecting urban creek ecosystems. Through our interdisciplinary work, we hope to improve the sustainability of this vital asset to the city of Austin.
https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/waller_creek_working_group
https://cns.utexas.edu/component/cobalt/item/3958-urban-ecosystems?Itemid=1971
While this effort is ongoing as a Freshman Research Initiative in the College of Natural Sciences, we recognize that the publicly available information has not been updated since 2019.
The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:
For the Waller Creek Research Group, multiple methods are employed, including digital archive of journal articles, dissertations, data sets, maps, news articles, blogs etc. related to Waller Creek, citizen science contributions of images, real-time data monitoring from USGS and other sources.
https://sites.cns.utexas.edu/waller_creek_working_group/data-0
Also, on acquisition of property, a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is completed to assess if current or historical property uses have impacted the soil or groundwater beneath the property and could pose a threat to the environment and/or human health.
A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):
The Waller Creek Research Group focuses on the entire watershed, of which 11% is on the UT Austin campus. UT Austin Landscape Services focuses on the entire length of the creek through the campus.
A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:
In 2016, UT launched a project to transform sections of Waller Creek that travel through Main Campus. Landscape Services performed an extensive amount of work to remove invasive, non-native plant and tree species and prune overgrown vegetation. These efforts were directed at immediately improving safety and visibility with a long-term goal to make positive habitat improvements in this heavily urbanized riparian ecosystem. Ongoing efforts in 2022 include vegetation maintenance, invasive species removal, and creek planting events to help build species diversity and reduce erosion.
https://facilitiesservices.utexas.edu/divisions/support/landscape-services
https://www.sustainablesites.org/dell-medical-district
https://sustainability.utexas.edu/walking-waller-creek
Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :
Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
This is cool too:
https://biodiversity.utexas.edu/resources/falcon-cam
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.