News & Updates
After Error, Hays County Groundwater Bill is Revived
A bill designed to protect western Hays County residents' water wells in light of a massive groundwater pumping project is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk —following an emotional week of political drama over an issue once considered local and relatively...
Legislative victory for Texas’ working lands
Texas Agricultural Land Trust: HB1925, authored by Representative Charlie Geren, will move the Texas Farm & Ranch Lands Conservation Program to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD). TPWD is well-suited to ensure that the program meets its purpose,...
A Scientist who Modeled Texas’s Blanco River in 2007 Probes for Lessons After the Deadly Flash Flood
As news spread of the devastating and deadly flooding west of Austin, Tex., last weekend (followed by so much more), I started exploring what’s known about flood risks along the Blanco River and other waterways in Texas’s “Flash Flood Alley.” I came across a 2007...
Tussle in Legislature over Hueco Tanks, Hays County water
Residents of flood-ravaged Hays County were furious Tuesday that State Rep. Mary González used a legislative maneuver in an attempt to kill a local bill they say will protect their wells. In calls and emails, several asked why a lawmaker whose district is 500 miles...
Cibolo Nature Center & Farm awarded REI grant to expand access to natural places in Texas
The Cibolo Nature Center & Farm was awarded a $10,000 grant from specialty outdoor retailer REI for recreational trail improvements to increase public access to wild, open places in Texas, executive director Carolyn Chipman Evans said Thursday. “We are honored to...
Finding Nature Near You Just Got Easier
Nature Rocks Texas is making it easier for families to get outside and connect with nature. The Nature Rocks Texas website brings together parks, nature centers, zoos, natural areas and nature-based programs and events all in one place. Did you know that Texas has 15...
Before Central Texas Flooding, Officials Sounded Alarm
When some residents of Wimberley woke up early Sunday morning to flooding inside their homes, the fear and surprise were palpable: The Texas Hill Country had been going through a record, multiyear drought. But just three months earlier, local officials had voiced...
Contested Case Hearing legislation signed by the Governor
Senate Bill 709, which will become law Sept. 1, scales back contested-case hearings, a process that allows landowners and the public to challenge industrial TCEQ permits such as sand and gravel operations and wastewater discharges in and along Hill Country rivers....
Award for Llano River Field Station
James Murr, The Junction Eagle: Texas Tech University’s Llano River Field Station in Junction has been selected for the “Education and Public Service Award” given by the Universities Council on Water Resources. The award recognizes “contributions to increased public...