News
‘Careful what we ask for’: Dripping Springs battles major Hill Country growing pains, development issues
Diane and Chuck McClaferty live and work on a Dripping Springs ranch. It’s been in Chuck McClaferty’s family for 85 years. They raise beef cattle. They keep honeybees. And a proposed four-lane highway would run right through the middle of their land. Read more from...
Saving ‘the edge of night’: Starry-sky admirers fight light pollution in the Hill Country amid growth, development
Chris Hill peered through the lens of the telescope in his backyard one cold night, looking into the sea of stars and galaxies that pepper the night sky like grains of sand. He walked to a pair of computers nearby and pressed a few buttons. A picture came into focus:...
Porcupines, or ‘cuddly cactuses,’ popping up more in Central Texas
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the species appears to be expanding its range eastward. Its range in Texas normally is limited to the western portion of the state, including the Panhandle and parts of the Hill Country. Read more from Chrissy Mazzone with...
How to be an anti-racist geoscience organization
I’ve had this paper in the hopper for a while, waiting for the courage to write about it, in large part due to the controversy over Critical Race Theory but also — and perhaps primarily — because I am an old(ish), white, straight male fearful of saying (or writing)...
How cattle ranchers can combat climate change
Texas relies on the multibillion-dollar cattle industry for economic success and the conservation of our iconic landscape — the two are not mutually exclusive. Ranchers have a devotion to the land that sustains their livelihood, as it did for generations before them....
Texas Innovation Corridor future development project launches
Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP) and Watershed Partners, a program of WVWA, jointly launched the Texas Innovation Corridor (TxIC) Future Development project Nov. 15, celebrating funding approval in October from GSMP’s board matched equally by WVWA. The $43,000,...
Wimberley Trail project receives state funds
The Wimberley Trail Project has received approval of more than $970,000 in funds from the Texas Transportation Commission for sidewalk infrastructure. The money will fund sidewalks connecting Wimberley High School, Danforth Junior High School, Wimberley Market Days...
Lipan Apache tribal members gather in Presidio to celebrate historic land transfer
Standing among the graves in Presidio’s Cementerio del Barrio de los Lipanes, members of the Lipan Apache Tribe of Texas met with Big Bend residents this weekend to mark a historic occasion. Some 200 years after Lipanes began buying their dead on what was then a peace...
Too much of a good thing — Dripping Springs extends moratorium on new development
The city of Dripping Springs has extended its moratorium on new development until late February amid concerns about rapid growth and insufficient infrastructure. The small Hays County town, known as the “Gateway to the Hill Country,” enacted the moratorium on Nov. 18....
Clemente Guzman’s celebration of river life selected for 2021 Texas Book Festival poster art
The Texas Book Festival selected a painting titled Viva Texas Rivers! by San Antonio-based artist Clemente Guzman as the featured poster art for the 26th annual Texas Book Festival, held in Austin Oct. 25-31, 2021. The artwork celebrates the state’s life and culture...
This water is my water
An old fight over water is coming to a boil in Central Texas, a fight with all the conflict and character of an old western movie. There are farmers up in arms and big-city charmers, empire builders and nervous politicians. The very life of the prettiest river in...
Water worries in Texas, worldwide as weather extremes multiply
Water worries are a central element of growing concerns about climate change, which sometimes contributes to meteorological situations with far too much rain and sometimes to others with way too little. Either way, both flooding and drought/heat wave conditions, along...
Expert says a $3 billion infusion won’t solve the state’s water infrastructure problems — ‘but it’s a good start’
Water infrastructure systems across Texas are falling into disrepair. This year, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave the state’s drinking water infrastructure the not-so satisfactory grade of a C-minus. And as Texas’ population continues to grow, experts say...
Nature can reduce costs, extend life of infrastructure projects
A newly published article could prompt discussion around adoption of construction designs and methods that utilize nature to cut costs, extend project lifecycles and improve ecological synergy, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientist. The lead author...
Texas groundwater supplies in danger, reports say
Across Texas, groundwater is being pumped out of aquifers so quickly that more wells are in danger of going dry, and more springs and surface water may begin to dry up, according to two reports released on Tuesday. Statewide, Texas is losing groundwater at nearly...
Fahrenheit 140 – Texas Climate Predictions and Potty Training Cows
What weather extremes can Texans expect to see into 2036? How can we prepare for the intensifying natural disasters that Texas is experiencing? Hosts Robert Mace and Carrie Thompson talk with Texas State Climatologist Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon to get the answers to...
talk+water: Kyle Garmany
Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief Dr. Todd Votteler interviews Kyle Garmany, Water and Agriculture Program Director for the Texas chapter of the Nature Conservancy. In his role at the Nature Conservancy, Garmany is responsible for developing innovative strategies to...
Watershed Association Purchases 74 acres of Dry Cypress for Recharge Protection
The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA) finalized the purchase of 74 acres adjacent to the Colemans Canyon Preserve on Wednesday, November 10, 2021. This purchase secures critical recharge area for the Middle Trinity Aquifer and is within the catchment area...
Lyndon B. Johnson National Park dubbed International Dark Sky Park
The Lyndon B. Johnson National Park, a historical park and ranch in Texas, received praise for its stunning Hill Country night skies by earning an International Dark Sky Park certification. The award recognizes the exceptional quality of the park's night skies and...
Out of excuses; Secure Hill Country’s fragile water
Here’s something we don’t get to say very often: It’s been a promising month for water in the Hill Country. With record sprawl pushing ever westward from I-35 and climate change threatening an age of Texan megadroughts, the water future of the Hill Country has looked...
New evidence COVID-19 is widespread in deer
A new study has found high rates of SARS CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) exposure and active infection among white-tailed deer tested across Iowa. Previously, antibodies detected in deer suggested exposure to the virus, but this is the first confirmation of...
City’s plan on climate might see more action
Within the next decade, San Antonio will be much hotter than ever. Climate change has reached Texas, bringing an array of drought and extreme weather, including intense precipitation, that many project will leave the state dealing with constant emergencies in the near...
Witte exhibit gives Black cowboys their due
Before the Civil War, a quarter of Texas cowboys on cattle drives were Black. Like their white and Tejano counterparts, they had a singular perspective. It was on horseback, 7 feet up. Some of those Black cowboys were free; some were enslaved. Other Black ranch hands,...
Environmental justice in urban development: the problem of green gentrification
Former railroad turned elevated park, the New York City High Line presents a prime example of creating new green spaces to beautify, ameliorate, and revitalize surrounding communities. Although certainly one of the city’s most popular parks, the High Line also serves...
The renewed environmental justice movement is bringing in millions for Texas Southern University
Forty years ago, there was no clear blueprint for environmental justice. While digging into the injustices that wreaked havoc on Houston’s communities of color, Texas Southern University scholar Robert Bullard became the pioneer. Now, widely regarded as “the father of...
Is it 2021 or 1961 at America’s DOTs?
As a society, we often can't see ourselves in the villains of our history books. Back then was a less enlightened era, we tell ourselves: a more prejudiced one, a more shortsighted or naïve one. The things they did we would surely never do today, because we've...
Southwest states facing tough choices about water as Colorado River diminishes
This past week, California declared a statewide drought emergency. It follows the first-ever federal shortage declaration on the Colorado River, triggering cuts to water supplies in the Southwest. The Colorado is the lifeblood of the region. It waters some of the...
The infrastructure bill has passed. What now?
We highly recommend this nuanced take on recent federal infrastructure funding outlined in the article below from Small Towns. While having additional federal infrastructure funding is crucial to the continued success of our changing communities, we also recognize...
Texas adopts new management rules for chronic wasting disease in deer
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission adopted a new chronic wasting disease management rule package Thursday, regulations mostly geared toward the state’s deer breeding industry. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff believe the update was necessary because the...
Whitetails go from gloom to boom
Things were not looking good for Texas’ white-tailed deer population in January with the U.S. Drought Monitor showing more than 90 percent of the state experiencing abnormally dry to exceptional drought conditions. Then came winter storm Uri in February with freezing...