Document the San Marcos Springs spring-run corridor, site 1, the public Wetlands Boardwalk and Spring Lake shoreline nature trail, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment (Texas State University, public education and research facility), 201 San Marcos Springs Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666, Hays County (2026-08-04)

This stretch of the San Marcos Springs spring-run corridor, immediately below Spring Lake, feeds one of the most endemic-rich spring systems in North America and has no recent photo record to prioritize its dry bank for restoration. Standard: USDA NRCS conservation practice standard 580 streambank and shoreline protection plus conservation practice standard 342 critical area planting, applied here to the San Marcos Springs spring-run corridor feeding the upper San Marcos River, one of the largest and most biologically diverse spring systems in Texas and habitat for the San Marcos salamander, the Texas blind salamander, and the fountain darter, Hays County, TX, dry-bank work only, never a spring-opening approach. SDG 6.6 and 15.1. Proof: document only observation log plus bank condition note plus GPS plus ranked follow on note Method (USDA NRCS conservation practice standard 580 streambank and shoreline protection plus conservation practice standard 342 critical area planting, applied here to the San Marcos Springs spring-run corridor feeding the upper San Marcos River, one of the largest and most biologically diverse spring systems in Texas and habitat for the San Marcos salamander, the Texas blind salamander, and the fountain darter, Hays County, TX, dry-bank work only, never a spring-opening approach. SDG 6.6 and 15.1.): 1. 1. From the Meadows Center's public Wetlands Boardwalk, nature trail, or San Marcos City Park's bank, photograph a stretch of the spring-run corridor below the springs without entering the water or approaching a spring orifice. The San Marcos salamander, the Texas blind salamander, and the fountain darter, all federally listed, live in spring openings feeding this reach; never approach, probe, lift a rock at, disturb, or enter a spring orifice, and never net, collect, or handle anything at any skill level. 2. 2. Note whether the dry bank shows bare soil, erosion, invasive-choked vegetation, or litter. 3. 3. Photograph the nearest boardwalk marker or interpretive sign for the crew's reference. 4. 4. Record a ranked follow on note naming the stretch for the source-protection restoration crew. Done when: Photo of the spring-run corridor's dry bank taken from the public boardwalk or trail; Note of the bank condition (bare, eroding, invasive-choked, or littered); Confirmation no spring orifice was approached, probed, or disturbed, and the water was never entered; Ranked follow on note naming the stretch for the source-protection restoration crew; GPS waypoint of the surveyed stretch

Where

the public Wetlands Boardwalk and Spring Lake shoreline nature trail, The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment (Texas State University, public education and research facility), 201 San Marcos Springs Dr, San Marcos, TX 78666, Hays County

Pay

$90 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

document only observation log plus bank condition note plus GPS plus ranked follow on note

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2026-11-03

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 30–60 minutes. Method of record: EPA dry-weather / AMD field screening

Bring

• GPS phone
• pH meter or strips
• conductivity meter
• ammonia + iron test kit as specified
• surfactant screen if specified
• gloves
• camera

Steps

1. 1. Navigate to the outfall/reach; record GPS; photograph it, capturing any visible flow or staining.
2. 2. Note whether flow is present in dry weather (yes/no).
3. 3. Measure and record pH, conductivity, and each specified analyte per kit instructions.
4. 4. Log any color, odor, floc, or aquatic-life observation.
5. 5. Enter all readings with units, GPS, time, and photos into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Dry-weather flow present with elevated conductivity/ammonia/surfactants -> flag suspected illicit discharge for the responsible agency.
• pH < 6 with visible iron floc -> tag suspected acid mine drainage; recommend metals lab panel.

What counts as done

• Photo of the spring-run corridor's dry bank taken from the public boardwalk or trail
• Note of the bank condition (bare, eroding, invasive-choked, or littered)
• Confirmation no spring orifice was approached, probed, or disturbed, and the water was never entered
• Ranked follow on note naming the stretch for the source-protection restoration crew
• GPS waypoint of the surveyed stretch

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Watershed Health. A watershed is everything the land pours into a stream, and the stream keeps the record. The EPA's bioassessment method reads that record through the small creatures living in the gravel: mayflies and caddisflies mean clean water, only worms and midges mean trouble. Mastery looks like a person who can wade one riffle with a net and tell you how the whole valley is doing. That skill is built sample by sample. This packet is one of them: one site, one careful count, one entry in the long record of a stream.