Steve Favre of Riverview Farms has been selected as the Outstanding Wildlife Conservationist by the Delta County Soil and Water Conservation District.
The couple along with their children Kristen and Matthew own and manage Riverview Farms. Riverview Farms is a 1450 acre outdoor recreational property located in Delta County, Texas. Since the original purchase in January of 2002 the Favre's have worked to create and improve outdoor recreational opportunities on the property.
Riverview Farms was enrolled in the Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) in early 2002. The Wetlands Reserve Program is a voluntary program offering landowners the opportunity to protect, restore, and enhance wetlands on their property. The US Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provided technical and financial support to help the owners of Riverview with their wetland restoration efforts. Riverview and its wildlife habitat are protected through a permanent conservation easement.
In 2004, Riverview Farms and the "Riverview Wetland Restoration" project were recognized by the Environmental Protection Agency as an "EPA Five Star Restoration Award" recipient for the work being done to restore wetlands on the property. Partners such as NRCS, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Ducks Unlimited, and others have and continue to restore wetlands and native bottomland hardwood forest by improving soil conditions and eliminating erosion problems around the wetlands. This is being accomplished by constructing low level dikes, utilizing water control devices, and planting 471 acres of native trees and 428 acres of native grasses and shrubs. The site serves as a wetland filter that improves water quality in the surrounding area. This Five-Star project has also served as a catalyst for local landowners to enroll land in conservation easements and to create wetlands and additional habitat for wildlife in Northeast Texas.
Favre, along with Texas Parks and Wildlife and the National Wild Turkey Federation, is pioneering the Sulphur River Eastern Turkey Cooperative. Since its inception in December of 2014, he has met with potential landowners and has enrolled approximately 22,000 acres into the program so far in Delta and Lamar counties near the North Sulphur River between Sulphur Bluff and State Highways 19 and 24.
Riverview Farms donates a hunt to the local Fire Department fundraiser every year. He also won the Regional Wildlife Conservationist Award for Region IV and will be picking up his award in Jacksonville, Texas, on May 5.