The second in a series of four seminars on the impact of the energy industry in Brewster, Jeff Davis and Presidio counties is scheduled March 18 at Sul Ross State University in Alpine. The seminar, “Development by Design: Where Energy and Conservation Meet,” will feature Joe Kiesecker of The Nature Conservancy of Texas and Melinda Taylor of University of Texas. The first seminar was held Jan. 14 featuring Mike Teague of Adamantine Energy and David Iannelli of Hudson Pacific.
Louis Harveson, professor at Sul Ross State, said, “We hope to better prepare west Texas communities for energy development. We will be engaging landowners, community members and industry partners to ascertain their conservation values for the region… We want to understand what energy development can look like and what constituents want and don’t want.”
The series of seminars is sponsored by Respect Big Bend Coalition and its Borderlands Research Institute, which received a grant of $100,000 from Meadows Foundation. Other sponsors include Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation, Permian Basin Area Foundation and Still Water Foundation.