Riverdance – Water is too precious for quarries

Riverdance – Water is too precious for quarries

Having nearly exhausted its exploitation of the Guadalupe River quarries from Comfort to Center Point in Kerr County, the sand, gravel and aggregate industry (APOs) is actively pursuing possible sites in the floodplain areas of Kendall County. Largely...
HOAs slow to accept native plant landscaping

HOAs slow to accept native plant landscaping

San Antonio Water System (SAWS) has long offered incentives to homeowners to replace non-native grass lawns with drought-resistant native plants. But the city’s many homeowner associations (HOAs) continue to favor water-thirsty, non-native turf grasses and resist...
Group to keep eye on the sky

Group to keep eye on the sky

A week after the county adopted a resolution to protect the night skies, a local group is forming with the intent of educating residents about how they can help protect one of the Hill Country’s greatest assets — a starlit night sky. Cliff Kaplan, program...
County resolution supports efforts to preserve darkness

County resolution supports efforts to preserve darkness

The stars at night are big and bright — and disappearing from view deep in the heart of Texas. That was the consensus of a standing-room-only audience this week as the Kendall County Commissioners Court heard comments from concerned citizens in support of a resolution...
Crops to cul-de-sacs: As pastoral land disappears in Central Texas, one man holds back the tide

Crops to cul-de-sacs: As pastoral land disappears in Central Texas, one man holds back the tide

From the cab of his pickup, Ron Collins gives a tour of a bygone era, when his Pilot Knob neighborhood in southeastern Travis County was a country outpost, home to his extended family, which traces its roots there back more than a century. Here is where his old...
Director’s Notes – March 2020: HCA in the era of Coronavirus

Director’s Notes – March 2020: HCA in the era of Coronavirus

Dear Hill Country Neighbors, It’s hard to start a letter addressing the unprecedented reality we find ourselves in. The Covid-19 outbreak has shown us just how critical our Hill Country community is to the work of the Hill Country Alliance. There is no replacement for...