News & Updates
With Texas back in drought, watering cutbacks resume in San Antonio
Only two months ago, Texas residents were still watching snow melt from a historic winter freeze. But with little moisture over the past several weeks, drought conditions are now spreading across the state. For the first time since 2018, San Antonio officials on...
New species described at Jacob’s Well honors David Baker
The karst springs of the Texas Hill Country are unique and specialized environments. Thanks to a collaboration of biologists, a new species–Stygobromus bakeri–has been described from 4 central Texas limestone karst springs; Jacob’s Well (Hays County), John Knox Spring...
New Book: Wanted! Mountain Cedars, Dead and Alive
Spicewood Publications is pleased to announce the release of Elizabeth McGreevy's book: Wanted! Mountain Cedars, Dead and Alive tells the story of Mountain Cedar trees that grow in the Texas Hill Country. Over the last 100 years, these trees have been characterized as...
SAWS to pay groundwater district $75,000 to settle probe over Vista Ridge flushing
The San Antonio Water System will pay $75,000 to resolve an investigation by a rural groundwater district into discharges of high-priced water down a Northside creek last year. In April 2020, the San Antonio Report published an investigation detailing SAWS’ discharges...
30×30: How important are private lands in meeting conservation goals?
Sagebrush bulldozed for a housing development. A pipeline carved through grasslands. Forest felled for a road. Every 30 seconds in the United States, a football field-sized swath of nature is lost to development, according to research from the Center for American...
Bipartisan bill to help declining wildlife introduced on Earth Day in Congress
With as many as one-third of America’s fish and wildlife species on the brink of becoming threatened or endangered, a bill introduced April 22 on Earth Day in Congress seeks to reverse this trend, while creating thousands of new jobs and investing in the outdoor...
Young Life members should pressure their organization to be stewards of the environment
Texas State is home to a well-attended chapter of Young Life, a Colorado-based Christian organization comprising mainly high school and college students. Texas State Young Life members spend a lot of time together, including camping together at LoneHollow Ranch in...
Price of a park: San Antonio’s Mission Reach can offer valuable lessons for Great Springs Project
About 4,500 years ago, native Texans mapped their waterways on a cave wall in the Pecos River Valley. A rock painting called the White Shaman Mural shows four dots along a sinuous red line. Gary Perez, a descendent of the Hokan-speaking peoples of South Texas, said...
Opinion: Address looming water issues in Comal County before it’s too late
My name is Mark Friesenhahn and I live in southwest Comal County. I am a lifetime Texan and proud to live in the Hill Country. I am however, becoming concerned about the lack of resources to support the massive growth we’re experiencing Deep in the Heart of Texas. I...