Announcing, the New Western Branch

January 2025

Author: Russell Carter PE

There is an ambitious experiment about to happen in the panhandle and western half of the state; the new Western Branch will be created as part of the Texas Section of American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). For a two-year trial period the current branches High Plain, Caprock, and West will merge as the Western Branch.

The new Western Branch will incorporate approximately 89,000 square miles, 70 counties, 6 major municipalities, 3 student chapters, and 328 assigned members/212 dues-paying members. The new branch will incorporate the engineering challenges required to support the people, agriculture, energy, and associated industries within the three branches.   

The new branch incorporates over 50 % of the largest oil and gas producing counties in Texas.   The majority of large-scale wind farms and wind energy in Texas is also in the Western Branch.   There is even a growing solar farm sector within the new Western Branch.

The area is transversed east-west by three established Interstates; I-40, I-20, 1-10, and the recently signed federal bill will see the north-south Interstate I-27 expand to provide service to the entire Ports-to-Plains Corridor.

So why the experiment? Since 2018-2019 the existing three branches have been challenged to maintain consistent leadership. Many officers have been promoted within their companies and moved to larger offices in different metroplexes. The branch members are diverse and are experiencing different growth stages of their lives, families, and careers making commitments to volunteer activities challenging. By merging the three branches the membership of the branch more aligns to membership in surrounding branches and the goal of maintaining sustainable leadership may be achieved.

Table 1: Membership in Western Branch and Surrounding Branches

BRANCH	ASSIGNED MEMBERS	SUBSCRIBING MEMBERS	RATIO SUBSCRIBING/ASSIGNED MEMBERS
Western	328	212	64.6%
El Paso	402	288	71.6%
Fort Worth	1314	908	69.1%
San Antonio	821	505	61.5%

Table 2: Membership in Western Branch and Existing Branches it will incorporate.

BRANCH	ASSIGNED MEMBERS	SUBSCRIBING MEMBERS	RATIO SUBSCRIBING/ASSIGNED MEMBERS
Western	328	212	64.6%
High Plains	78	48	61.5%
Caprock	144	97	67.4%
West Texxas	106	67	63.2%

There are opportunities that the new branch will have as they use new technology to reach engineers across the vast region. The advances in remote meetings and new familiarity with remote systems will allow the members and officers to collaborate across the region. Each metro area will be able to host in-person events to maintain and grow local community relationships.   

Population growth is expected to increase in the six major cities within the Western Branch by as much as 20% by 2040 (The Texas Demographic Center Vintage 2022 Population Projections) while the rural counties will see a population decline. The changing population demographics of the entire state only increases the need for engineering in the region that supports the energy and water needs of east Texas.   An active branch supporting the engineers and members within the region will only benefit all of Texas.

The Western Branch will be unique in its approach to leadership, activity, and communication. It will require leaders who know the area and the people. The members and leaders will have the opportunity to adapt, improvise, and overcome as a new vision of branch success is developed and achieved.  

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