Currents is a bimonthly electronic newsletter that focuses on outdoor recreation and natural resource topics, as well as other LCRA public service initiatives. Having trouble viewing this newsletter? Click here to view online. If you no longer wish to receive Currents, click here to unsubscribe.

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Currents

August - September 2012

Lakes Buchanan
and Bastrop boast
new boat ramps and docks

Lakes, love
and life jackets...

Meet Marcus O’Connor from McKinney Roughs
Click here for more information Click here for more information Click here for more information

A team effort by LCRA, a conservation group and the counties of Burnet and Llano, brings two new boat ramps to Lake Buchanan. Also, a new boat dock is open at Lake Bastrop's South Shore Park. It can accommodate eight boats next to the ramp. These new additions will help boaters get in and out of the lakes faster. Click here to watch a video about the Lake Buchanan ramps.

Men are 80 percent more likely to drown than women, so keep your eyes on guys in the water – it will help keep them safe and they might like the extra attention. Click here for the new Nobody’s Waterproof public service announcement that brings home the important wear-a-life-jacket message with a little humor. Click here for more videos and safety tips.

Marcus O'Connor relocated from Matagorda Bay on the Gulf Coast to work upstream at LCRA's McKinney Roughs Nature Park. He helps with LCRA's summer camps and other park programs that help visitors learn about the Colorado River, its importance and how best to preserve it. Click here to see why Marcus is a great example of LCRA’s Public Service at Work.

Quick Links


Community Events Calendar

Looking for someplace fun to visit for an afternoon or a weekend? Our Community Events Calendar lists a host of festivals, art shows, cook-offs, market days, canoe races and other fun events taking place in communities all along the lower Colorado River.

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New life jacket loaner board
ready for use at Cottonwood Shores

Swimmers at the Cottonwood Shores boat ramp and park have an additional safety resource available to them thanks to the collective efforts of the City of Cottonwood Shores, the Central Texas Water Safety Coalition and an ambitious local Scout. Learn more»

Help prevent the spread of invasive, destructive zebra mussels

With harmful zebra mussels invading Texas lakes, LCRA wants boaters to take the proper precautions to ensure their boats are free of the destructive mollusks before entering the Highland Lakes. Zebra mussels are highly invasive freshwater mussels that can take over a lake and alter aquatic ecosystems. They harm native fish and mussels and spoil beaches with their sharp shells. They also wreak havoc for boaters by damaging boat hulls, boating equipment and boat docks, and they can clog water intakes, drastically increasing maintenance costs for utilities. Learn more»

Free life jackets

LCRA’s water safety campaign staff has been giving away life jackets at its outreach events. If you still need an adult or child life jacket, then stop by one of these last three events of the summer. The life jackets are free and wearing them saves lives! Click here for dates, times and locations of the last three Nobody’s Waterproof events for 2012.

Free educator workshop
at McKinney Roughs Nature Park

LCRA’s McKinney Roughs Nature Park is hosting a free workshop for educators about the Houston Toad. The Sept. 29 workshop will be from 8 a.m. – noon and will earn teachers three continuing education credits. Lunch and one extra credit will be provided to attendees who participate in an optional field program at Bastrop State Park. The workshop will be co-sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Houston Zoo, LCRA, and nonprofits Amphibian Ark and the Jacob and Terese Hershey Foundation.  Space is limited. To RSVP or for more information, send email to Rachel@amphibianark.org.

Save the date:
Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup

Mark your calendars now for the 18th annual Lake Travis Underwater Cleanup on Sunday, Sept. 23. Every year, hundreds of divers and shoreline volunteers help gather trash from the bottom of Lake Travis and the shores of LCRA-Travis County parks around the lake. Click here for a list of the 11 parks that will be on this year’s cleanup list and for more information about this annual event.

FastFacts

The City of Cedar Park and LCRA are sharing the cost for a water reuse project that makes the city’s sports complex a model of wise water use. Click here to find out more.

Contact us: AskLCRA | www.LCRA.org