News & Updates
San Antonio mayor navigating troubled waters over plan to reroute aquifer protection tax funding
A plan to improve public transit by rerouting money from a popular program aimed at protecting the Edwards Aquifer has hit rough waters. Mayor Ron Nirenberg and Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff want to redirect $40 million a year from a 1/8-cent sales tax that pays for...
Council may pump $100K into Permian pipeline legal battle
Austin City Council members will vote on a resolution Thursday earmarking as much as $100,000 to the city manager to participate in civil litigation against the Permian Highway Pipeline. The 42-inch, 430-mile buried natural gas pipeline would run from just north of...
Hill Country Conservancy is now accepting pre-applications for funding of conservation easements through the Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative
The Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative (HCHCI), a program of Hill Country Conservancy, the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network and 18 partner organizations, is now accepting pre-applications from landowners located within specified critical river...
Is Central Texas prepared for another major wildfire?
The deadly wildfires in Australia are bringing a lot of attention to fire dangers – even here at home. Right now, Central Texas is in a drought and the big question is: Are we prepared for a big wildfire? This area has seen big fires before, like the one in Bastrop...
Texas Comptroller’s Office Partners with the University of Houston – Clear Lake to Perform Western Chicken Turtle Surveys
The Texas Comptroller's Natural Resources program has contracted with the University of Houston - Clear Lake (UHCL) to conduct range-wide surveys in East Texas for the western chicken turtle. The partnership will inform an upcoming Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing...
Money for San Antonio aquifer protection would likely be cut under SAWS’ purview
Money for a city program that protects the Edwards Aquifer would be cut in half if the San Antonio Water System took on the responsibility, preliminary figures released Tuesday show. Mayor Ron Nirenberg has pushed the city-owned utility to assume control of the...
Energy company develops ultrasonic device to keep bats away from Texas windfarms
An energy company is taking steps to protect bats from windmills. Research shows hundreds of thousands are killed every year. There's new technology to keep this from happening. The Mexican free-tailed bats fly in the millions at their peak. They’re the state's...
Kinder Morgan mobilizes for pipeline construction in Central Texas; opponents prepare to sue
After more than a year of community meetings, negotiations, resolutions and legal action, the pipeline company Kinder Morgan is getting ready to begin construction on the Permian Highway Pipeline in Central Texas—at least if legal challenges do not stop it. Work has...
Record-breaking vote shows consensus and need for more Texas state parks
To my wife’s dismay, I was going to cook the Thanksgiving turkey over a campfire at Tyler State Park with the guidance of my son’s most recent Boy’s Life magazine. We have a big map of Texas on the wall of our family room. We’re on a mission to visit all 90 or so...