News & Updates
NWF Wins Environmental Flow Protections in the Guadalupe River Basin
A Travis County District Court Judge ruled in favor of the National Wildlife Federation, reversing the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s decision to issue a water rights permit to the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (“GBRA”). The permit would have allowed...
Comal County adopts parks and open space plan
What began more than a year ago as an initiative to secure grant funding for Comal County sports fields culminated Thursday in a lengthy — and at times heated — discussion among commissioners and residents about the role of government, property rights, and natural...
Don’t throw away those eclipse glasses. Here’s how to recycle them in Austin.
Once the eclipse has come and gone, you might be tempted to throw out your viewing glasses. The next total solar eclipse in Central Texas won’t be for at least 300 more years. But that doesn’t mean eclipses won’t happen elsewhere in the world. Read more from Luz...
Hill Country’s eclipse worries: Jammed roads, supply shortages
As local officials prepare for an influx of their own, they’ve been reviewing reports from the last eclipse and finishing up their own emergency plans — and warning local residents who can stay home to hunker down and stay out of the chaos. “We’ve been planning for...
‘Our lakes are drying up’: Central Texas Water Coalition urges Lakeway residents to conserve
Lakeway residents were urged to conserve water during a presentation by the Central Texas Water Coalition—an organization focused on protecting the water supply in the Highland Lakes—at a City Council meeting March 18. In July, Travis County officials sent a request...
In protecting darkness, conservation finds new light
For land trusts that want to protect dark skies, the good news is this: They already do plenty to combat light pollution. By protecting undeveloped land with little human habitation, they inherently preserve darkness, at no added cost. And, when compared to problems...
Ahead of the solar eclipse, Hill Country towns are bracing for chaos
The urgency is partly because of the rarity of the phenomenon: the next total solar eclipse to be visible in continental U.S. won’t arrive until 2044. And the Hill Country may be an especially attractive destination because the region is enviably pleasant in the...
‘Tourism on steroids’: Eclipse can be economic boon for Hill Country
When a rare total eclipse darkens the Texas sky on April 8, it’s expected to draw in as many as 1 million out-of-state visitors. Those visitors are expected to inject millions of dollars into the state’s economy — and a big chunk of that will be spent in the Hill...
2023 Hill Country Alliance Annual Report
In 2023, the Hill Country Alliance hosted, convened, or presented at more than 160 events and connected with a digital audience of 20,300. HCA released an unprecedented number of new tools, reports, and guides in 2023 and reached broad audiences across Texas, with...