Zara Environmental Honored With Barton Springs/Edwards Edwards Aquifer Conservation District's Innovation Award

PictureZara Environmental Vice President Peter Sprouse accepts the Innovation Award
Zara Environmental was honored with the Innovation Award at the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District's Groundwater Stewardship Awards. The awards luncheon was held at Bowie high School on March 4, 2016. Zara Environmental developed a new method to bait and trap subterranean animals in wells. Over a period of 5 1/2 years and 214 sampling events, Zara biologists captured a Barton Springs salamander in a southern Travis County Edwards Aquifer well. This was a range extension for the species, and the first collection from within a well. The Barton Springs salamander, which was previously documented from only five other central Texas sites, is being submitted to experts who will genetically sequence the material to determine the relationship between this salamander and those from nearby known locations. Zara Environmental is known for developing innovative research methods to sample non-traditional habitats.