News & Updates
Federal recognition to advance conservation and military readiness around Camp Bullis
On the west side of Camp Bullis, at the edge of the Dominion neighborhood, Rustin Tabor pulls his truck to the side of a winding road and walks a few feet into the wooded area that lines it. Farther in, stretched across the dirt, is an entrance to a cave — a karst...
New report shows Texas Hill Country facing serious challenges tied to growth
The Hill Country has exploded over the past 20 years, growing by 50 percent to over 3.8 million people in the 18-county area north of San Antonio.That number is projected to increase another 35 percent in the next two decades. But all of that growth comes with a...
QuikTrip can move forward with gas station
The Helotes City Council has approved design plans of a proposed 24-hour gas station and convenience store on a rural stretch of road that some residents want to protect from commercial development. The 4-1 vote on Feb. 24 was not the final approval for the project,...
Population growth challenges Texas’ Hill Country
Booming population growth, coupled with changing climate patterns, unslakable groundwater thirst and political challenges, leave the Texas Hill Country newly vulnerable. What they're saying: "The Hill Country's breathtaking vistas, natural spaces, clear waters,...
Texas lawmakers must seize historic opportunity to transform the state’s fragile water infrastructure
Governor Abbott and Texas legislators should capitalize on the latest guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency and secure over $2 billion in allocated federal funds in order to transform the state’s fragile water infrastructure. “Texas’ water infrastructure...
Report: Edwards Aquifer Protection Program ‘brightest success story for conservation in Texas’
A first-of-its-kind report on the growth and environmental health of the Texas Hill Country cites the San Antonio Edwards Aquifer Protection Program as a shining example of conservation efforts in Texas, and is urging other Texas cities to follow suit. Produced by the...
‘Gold rush’ in Hill Country as homebuilding surges; stresses on environment, infrastructure prompt dire warnings
Gone are the days when the Texas Hill Country was just that — rolling hills as the backdrop to a country way of life, a relatively undeveloped and untouched region of the Lone Star State. Gone are the days when dark skies were actually dark, longhorns roamed in...
Rancher sues ConocoPhillips to protect endangered cat’s habitat
A Texas rancher has sued a national oil and gas company that he accuses of harming the habitat of an endangered species of wildcat on his property in DeWitt County. Mike Hamilton, co-owner of his family’s ranch near Cuero, filed a lawsuit in late January against...
We need to embrace traffic congestion, not fight it.
“Almost all of our transportation investments go to support commuters and, by extension, the proliferation of the development pattern that accompanies the commuting lifestyle.” I wrote these words last week for an article on a light rail project here in Minnesota...