News & Updates
Pedernales river springs salamanders may be federally recognized as endangered
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the Pedernales River springs salamander will undergo status reviews to be put on the federal endangered species list. The Pedernales River springs salamander was discovered in 2019 by researchers at The University of...
In Texas, a new study will determine where extreme weather hazards and environmental justice collide
The way Geeta Persad sees it, the nation’s great coastal cities are facing an environmental reckoning with threats from both the air and the sea. In the air, there is the belching, toxic exhaust from factories, petrochemical facilities, sewage treatment plants and...
Groundwater sampling helps better understand Edwards-Trinity Aquifers
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and scientists from the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) are studying water deep underground to further understand how drought and pumping affect the quality and quantity of groundwater that flows...
Texas heat index could soon surpass 120 degrees, study finds
A recent report published by the First Street Foundation found soon the heat index could surpass 125 degrees in much of Texas. The study was first reported by our media partners with the Texas Tribune. The increase in the heat index is a result of climate change....
Abandoned “dry hole” oil wells are polluting Texas farms, ranches and groundwater. The state won’t fix them.
Schuyler Wight is a fourth-generation rancher who has raised longhorn cattle outside Midland for decades. Wight is no geologist, but over the years, he’s had to familiarize himself with what lies underground. Scattered across his sprawling 20,000-acre ranch are more...
Sadly, “A Day Without Water” is becoming all to common for Texans
For many Texans, “a day without water” is not an imagined experience—it’s just another day. Some communities have never had running water. For the rest of us, experiencing days without water has become the rule rather than the exception. The one-two punch of...
Rapidly growing Dripping Springs ends development moratorium
After nearly a year, the rapidly growing city of Dripping Springs is no longer under a development moratorium. That means commercial and residential development can, and has, resumed — but that doesn’t mean the small Hays County city’s growing pains are solved. Read...
Hill Country leaders gather in Dripping Springs for 2022 Hill Country Leadership Summit – Our shared stories: Past, present, and future
On Thursday, September 29th, conservation leaders from across the Texas Hill Country met at The Hall at Jester King Brewery for the Hill Country Alliance’s annual Leadership Summit. The event theme, Our Shared Stories: Past, Present, and Future, brought together more...
Contentious Comal County quarry gets its air quality permit back
A proposed 1,500-acre limestone quarry between New Braunfels and Bulverde has secured its air quality permit from the state, leading to outrage and frustration from environmentalists and nearby residents. A three-judge panel of the Third Court of Appeals reversed a...