News & Updates
National parks — your Rx for good health
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, visitation to national parks is surging. As more parks close to protect visitors and staff, we can expect another influx when they reopen. In times of crisis and times of calm, national parks are America’s go-to places. Visitation...
Essential Austin nonprofit finding new ways to nourish community amid COVID-19
Tune into the Urban Roots Instagram feed and you’ll find a new series of videos featuring executive director Max Elliott teaching viewers how to plant peppers; showcasing his ready crop of kale and the helpful, aphid-eating ladybug larvae that live on the leaves; or...
2020 Hill Country Night Sky Song Contest announced
Press Release: Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky - For Immediate Release: April 6, 2020 The Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) has announced the 2020 Hill Country Night Sky Songwriting Contest. This year’s contest, open to songwriters of any genre or...
As Texans are exposed to dangerous pesticides, lawmakers aren’t doing anything
In the interim between legislative sessions, Texas lawmakers on the House Agriculture Committee will have an opportunity to examine an important but under-the-radar problem that’s making people sick in farming communities across the state. Then again, their attention...
Well water tests underway after pipeline crew hits Karst feature
Discolored water from wells near the Kinder Morgan Permian Highway Pipeline is causing distress. Test results on the water, taken where the pipeline is about to cross the Blanco River, are expected soon from a Lower Colorado River Authority laboratory. Once the...
Newly detected moth threatens prickly pear in Texas
Texas is now the front line of an ecological battle pitting a devastating invasive moth against the state’s ubiquitous prickly pear cactus. Already, the South American cactus moth has laid waste to the cactus population in Florida, having come ashore there roughly 30...
Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District delays drought cutbacks
Press Release: Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District - For Immediate Release: April 3, 2020 At the April 2 Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District Board meeting, District Directors voted to delay an order that would put the Jacobs Well Groundwater...
Huge feral hogs invading Canada, building ‘pigloos’ as they go
Feral swine, the offspring of wild boars and domestic pigs, are spreading through Canada into areas where many didn’t think they could survive. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, some Canadian farmers imported wild boars from Europe to raise for meat. But as wild...
The COVID-19 crisis and our water: Part 1
As people stocked up on food and essential items for their time at home to help slow the spread of the COVID-19, I saw shopping carts full of bottled water. Television shots and videos on social media of shoppers often showed the same thing. It seems that over the...