LCRA honors longtime Llano County rancher Helen Miles and her family with a resolution and silver commemorative plate honoring Miles’ outstanding stewardship of the Oxford Ranch. Pictured, left to right, are: Timothy Timmerman, LCRA Board chair; Ben Solomon, Miles’ grandson; Marsha Spinner, Miles’ daughter; Marshall Trigg, LCRA natural resource conservation coordinator; and Phil Wilson, LCRA general manager.
Helen Miles
Ranch manager Tom Ball and Marshall Trigg of LCRA, right, look out over the Oxford Ranch in Llano County.
AUSTIN, Texas – The Lower Colorado River Authority has recognized longtime Llano County rancher Helen Miles for her exemplary stewardship efforts and continuing participation in the LCRA Creekside Conservation Program.
Mrs. Miles was the first participant in the LCRA Creekside Conservation Program when it began in 1990 and continues to participate in the program today. The Creekside program has helped her and her family implement various conservation practices such as cross fencing, brush management and pasture planting on the Oxford Ranch, which her family has owned for generations.
The LCRA Board of Directors honored Mrs. Miles and her family with a special resolution at its Jan. 22 meeting in Austin. Mrs. Miles was unable to attend the meeting, but her family accepted the resolution on her behalf.
“Thanks to LCRA for supporting ranches,” Marsha Spinner, Mrs. Miles’ daughter, said.
Mrs. Miles’ grandson, Ben Solomon, said many people have worked through the years to maintain and conserve the natural resources on the ranch.
“There’s a lot of history on that land,” Solomon said. “The land is very important to us, and we appreciate this very much.”
LCRA General Manager Phil Wilson noted the ranch has been in the family since Mrs. Miles’ great-grandfather, Matthew “Mark” Moss, acquired it in 1836 through a Texas land grant. Her family was among the first settlers in Oxford after Texas became a state.
He said Mrs. Miles has carried on her family’s pioneering spirit by helping protect the ranch’s land and water resources for future generations.
“Thank you for all the work your family has done to help protect land and water resources in our basin,” Wilson said.
Now celebrating its 30-year anniversary, the LCRA Creekside Conservation Program provides cost-sharing incentives to help landowners implement conservation practices on private property to reduce soil erosion and enhance water quality within the lower Colorado River basin.
The program is a partnership among LCRA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, local soil and water conservation districts, and eligible landowners in Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Colorado, Fayette, Lampasas, Llano, Matagorda, San Saba, Travis and Wharton counties. For more information, visit
lcra.org/creeksideconservationprogram or contact Marshall Trigg, LCRA natural resource conservation coordinator, at 830-596-7239 or
Marshall.Trigg@LCRA.org.
About LCRA
The Lower Colorado River Authority serves customers and communities throughout Texas by managing the lower Colorado River; generating and transmitting electric power; providing a clean, reliable water supply; and offering outdoor adventures at more than 40 parks along the Colorado River from the Texas Hill Country to the Gulf Coast. LCRA and its employees are committed to fulfilling our mission to enhance the quality of life of the Texans we serve through water stewardship, energy and community service. LCRA was created by the Texas Legislature in 1934 and receives no state appropriations. For more information, visit
lcra.org.
Media Contact
Clara Tuma
512–578–3292
clara.tuma@lcra.org
Source: LCRA Business News
