Rebecca Springs, salamander surveys, and WHY they matter

Rebecca Springs, salamander surveys, and WHY they matter

Salamanders are sensitive critters. With external gills and limited habitats, they are good indicators of groundwater health. They rely on clean, clear, flowing springs to maintain healthy populations. Low water levels in aquifers lead to less spring flow and less...
Easing into watershed protection with taxes and bonds featuring Lon Shell, Frank Davis, and Phillip Covington

Easing into watershed protection with taxes and bonds featuring Lon Shell, Frank Davis, and Phillip Covington

Episode Notes  In this episode, Leslie Bobby of Southern Regional Extension Forestry talks to Frank Davis and Commissioner Lon Shell, important water management players in Texas’s Hill Country region, an area marked by considerable growth and development in...
Texas House backs green solutions to water problems

Texas House backs green solutions to water problems

Water Board will invest $4.5 million a year for nature-based infrastructure The Texas House gave final approval today to legislation to fund rain gardens, green roofs, constructed wetlands and other “nature-based” strategies for reducing water pollution, flooding and...
10 Texas climate bills to watch on Earth Day

10 Texas climate bills to watch on Earth Day

Texas, as the saying goes, has four seasons: drought, flood, blizzard, and twister. This old quip has hit a bit too close to home for Texans this year. We are less than two months removed from a devastating polar vortex that could yet prove to be the costliest...
Nature-based infrastructure bill headed to House floor as Legislative session continues

Nature-based infrastructure bill headed to House floor as Legislative session continues

Texas State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) presented several house bills for the 87th Texas Legislative Session in committees this week, one of which is heading to the house floor. Zwiener presented House Bill 48 to the House International Relations and Economic...
House Bill 3883: Good legislation for the Hill Country

House Bill 3883: Good legislation for the Hill Country

NOTE: Although this article was written for a Kendall County audience, the bill itself would apply throughout the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area (PGMA), covering all of Bandera, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, and Kerr Counties, as well as parts of...