These priorities or assets are then grouped into themes (such as recreation and tourism, preserve water supplies, reduce flooding potential, enhance trail systems, protecting wildlife habitat, and protecting water quality). With the help of local experts, interactive maps are created with each overlayed theme to show where multiple conservation assets exist and where multiple goals can be met – highlighting strategic “target” areas that offer highest conservation benefit.

Fox will assist the Technical Advisory Team (TAT) 1 that will primarily focus on drinking water quality.  TAT 2 will focus on public access to natural areas and recreation opportunities.  TAT members will be asked to participate in 3-4 meetings over the next 6 months to assist in characterizing criteria to consider for the analysis, to recommend best available data, and then to review the analysis results.  Each TAT will be made of 7-10 technical advisors with expertise in at least one of the following areas: water quality, parks and recreation, natural resource protection, land use planning, and geographic information systems data.  

Dr. Bill Fox is an Assistant Professor within the Ecosystem Science & Management Department at Texas A&M University and is centered at the Blackland Research & Extension Center in Temple, Texas.  He is the Co-Director for the Sustainable Rangeland Roundtable, a government sponsored national think-tank that continues to work in the realm of monitoring/assessment of rangeland sustainability.  He belongs to the Society for Range Management. Bill is a 4th generation Texan and an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting and fishing with his daughter and son at their family ranch in Bee County.