Overall Rating	Silver
Overall Score	49.88
Liaison	Karen Marin-Hines
Submission Date	Feb. 29, 2024

STARS v2.2

Texas Tech University
OP-10: Biodiversity

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	2.00 / 2.00 This credit is weighted more heavily for institutions that own or manage land that includes or is adjacent to any of the following: Legally protected areas (e.g., IUCN Category I-VI) Internationally recognized areas (e.g., World Heritage, Ramsar, Natura 2000) Priority sites for biodiversity (e.g., Key Biodiversity Areas, Alliance for Zero Extinction sites) Regions of conservation importance (e.g., Endemic Bird Areas, Biodiversity Hotspots, High Biodiversity Wilderness Areas) 2 points are available for this credit if the institution owns or manages land that includes or is adjacent to any of the above. 1 point is available for this credit for all other institutions. Close	Karen Marin-Hines Campus Sustainability Officer Operations

"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

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?:

Yes

A brief description of the legally protected areas, internationally recognized areas, priority sites for biodiversity, and/or regions of conservation importance:

Lubbock Lake Landmark
TTU Junction Campus/Llano River Field Station is adjacent to the South Llano River State Park.

Endangered and vulnerable species

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?:

Yes

A list of endangered and vulnerable species with habitats on land owned or managed by the institution, by level of extinction risk:

Burrowing Owl research was conducted at land managed by Texas Tech at Pantex near Amarillo and Reese Technology Center west of Lubbock.
https://www1.usgs.gov/coopunits/project/193181759488/meghan.mahurin

Areas of biodiversity importance

Has the institution conducted an assessment to identify areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution?:

Yes

A brief description of areas of biodiversity importance on land owned or managed by the institution:

The Llano River Field Station was established as part of TTU Center in Junction in June of 2002 to provide a laboratory and classroom environment for undergraduate and graduate students from numerous universities, institutes, and public schools. The Llano River Field Station encourages and supports research of local watershed and riparian habitats. https://www.depts.ttu.edu/junction/lrfs/

Methodologies

If yes to either of the above, provide the following:

The methodologies used to identify endangered and vulnerable species and/or areas of biodiversity importance and any ongoing assessment and monitoring mechanisms:

Potential issues in the Upper Llano were identified through stakeholder input, local project partner experience, modeling and water quality monitoring during the development of the watershed protection plan.

A brief description of the scope of the assessment(s):

The implementation of the Upper Llano River Watershed Protection Plan is on a 10-year timeframe, focusing on eight different management measures. Each measure has annual implementation milestones, expected funding needs and identified organizations that will guide and carry out each of the plan’s recommended actions.

A brief description of the plans or programs in place to protect or positively affect identified species, habitats, and/or ecosystems:

*Please refer to the Watershed Protection Plan
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/junction/lrfs/wpp/documents/WPPBrochure.pdf
https://www.depts.ttu.edu/junction/lrfs/wpp/documents/WPPEntire.pdf

https://today.ttu.edu/posts/2019/07/Stories/boal-burrowing-owl

Optional Fields

Estimated percentage of areas of biodiversity importance that are also protected areas :

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Website URL where information about the institution’s biodiversity initiatives is available:

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Additional documentation to support the submission:

Upper Llano WPP 2.pdf

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

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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.