News
An epic monarch migration faces new threats
One of nature’s most extraordinary spectacles unfolds in the 10,000-foot-high conifer forests of Michoacán, Mexico. In mid-November, swirling orange-and-black clouds appear in the skies above the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, a 139,019-acre sanctuary carved out...
How to poison feral hogs (and only feral hogs)
Early one winter morning in 2020, Kurt VerCauteren discovered a cluster of dead birds in a barren field in northwest Texas. They were small birds, mostly dark-eyed juncos, but also a smattering of white-crowned sparrows. VerCauteren’s team had poisoned them,...
lege+water: mid-May 2021 Update
Every month during the 87th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, Dr. Todd Votteler and Dr. Robert Mace provide an update on water-related legislation. The key water committees are Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs in the Senate, chaired by Senator Charles...
Folks in the field: Katherine Romans
Starting as the Landowner Outreach Manager at Hill Country Alliance, Katherine Romans love for the region combined with her non-profit and policy expertise made her a natural fit to become the Executive Director for the regional non-profit organization. Romans lives...
Pristine streams in Texas need protection. It’s up to the state Senate to act.
The first time I paddled the Nueces River I was blown away by the water — crystal clear, aqua colored, almost tropical. I could easily see the bottom of the river many feet below me and fish as they darted under my kayak. Fed by springs that percolate up from...
Many Texas trees still suffering from February’s winter storm won’t make it, arborists say
If you haven’t noticed, some of Central Texas’ trees aren’t looking so good. Live oaks with leaves sprouting from the branches and trunk. Ash trees with a sporadic green on only half of the canopy. Loquat, fig and citrus trees with growth at the base of the tree and...
Rebecca Creek salamanders could warrant Federal protection
Lizard-like amphibians with elongated bodies and tails, short limbs and external gills are the focus of scientists keeping tabs on groundwater health in Rebecca Creek. In April, Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) staff headed out to the area with U.S. Fish and...
Sun City residents concerned with proposal for nearby concrete batch plant
Sun City residents say they’re concerned about a proposed concrete batch plant that would be built about half a mile from homes. Plans for the plant show it would be located off Ronald Reagan near 195. Read more from Melanie Barden with CBS Austin here.
Solar-powered suds
Craft breweries, having already surged in popularity in recent decades, are enjoying a second renaissance during the COVID-19 pandemic as social life has moved outside. "I think back in the day before Bud, Miller, and Coors, you know, took over the American beer...
Boost protection for Texas’ pristine waters
There are only a few truly pristine rivers left in Texas. SB 1747 and HB 4146 (passed on 5/11/21) would help protect them. Help by voicing support for this bill. Only about 40 streams out of over 2,000 streams in all of Texas are considered pristine because they...
q&a+water: Suzanne Scott
In this issue’s Q&A, Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, interviews Suzanne Scott, State Director of The Nature Conservancy in Texas. As State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Texas, Scott establishes conservation strategy and public policy...
Opportunity to comment on the Draft 2022 State Water Plan
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) is now receiving public comments on the Draft 2022 State Water Plan. Updated and adopted every five years, the state water plan serves as a roadmap for addressing the water needs of our state and ensures that Texas will have...
Update: Wild pigs negatively impact ground-nesting birds
Wild pigs are an invasive species that can cause damages to private land, water quality and other wildlife populations. For ground-nesting birds, wild pigs pose a real threat to nest success and population numbers. Recent research documented that wild pigs readily...
lege+water: April 2021 Update
Every month during the 87th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature, Dr. Todd Votteler and Dr. Robert Mace provide an update on water-related legislation. The key water committees are Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs in the Senate, chaired by Senator Charles...
Blanco County students paint for the stars
The Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky (BCFNS) last week concluded its 2021 Night Sky Art Contest for students at the high schools and middle schools in both Blanco and Johnson City. The contest, whose theme was “Discover the Night – Deep in the Dark of...
New poll shows 78% of voters support Federal investment in water infrastructure
A new poll by the Value of Water Campaign released today shows that American voters’ support for increasing federal water infrastructure investment (78 percent) remains high, is bipartisan, and is on par with eliminating COVID-19 and strengthening the American economy...
Meet a scientist: Robert Mace
Robert Mace, Ph.D., is the Executive Director and Chief Water Policy Officer at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environmentand a professor in the Department of Geography at Texas State University. Mace has worked as a water researcher for over 30 years, and his...
Texas to make environmental proceedings more accessible to non-English speakers, following civil rights complaint
A new proposal from the state’s environmental agency would make it easier for community members who don't speak English to participate in the public permitting process for refineries, chemical plants and other industrial facilities. The proposed rule follows a civil...
Where there’s a waterway-there’s a will
Gaylord Nelson, the former Wisconsin Governor and founder of Earth Day, had a particularly salient quote that interestingly enough didn’t reference the environment. He said, “The ultimate test of a person's conscience may be the willingness to sacrifice something...
Developer promises ‘responsible’ approach
A Dallas entrepreneur says he plans to build what he’s calling an environmentally friendly development on 1,400 acres in the Texas Hill Country, with an aim toward preserving much of the land for future generations. The development, called Mirasol Springs, is being...
Rebecca Springs, salamander surveys, and WHY they matter
Salamanders are sensitive critters. With external gills and limited habitats, they are good indicators of groundwater health. They rely on clean, clear, flowing springs to maintain healthy populations. Low water levels in aquifers lead to less spring flow and less...
Easing into watershed protection with taxes and bonds featuring Lon Shell, Frank Davis, and Phillip Covington
Episode Notes In this episode, Leslie Bobby of Southern Regional Extension Forestry talks to Frank Davis and Commissioner Lon Shell, important water management players in Texas's Hill Country region, an area marked by considerable growth and development in recent...
Advocates push for bill designed to let counties manage development to protect water sources
A bill in the Texas legislature that would give county governments more authority to protect water sources in the Hill Country has not made it past the committee hurdle. House Bill 3883, authored by State Rep. Kyle Biedermann, failed to secure enough votes to pass...
Texas House backs green solutions to water problems
Water Board will invest $4.5 million a year for nature-based infrastructure The Texas House gave final approval today to legislation to fund rain gardens, green roofs, constructed wetlands and other “nature-based” strategies for reducing water pollution, flooding and...
10 Texas climate bills to watch on Earth Day
Texas, as the saying goes, has four seasons: drought, flood, blizzard, and twister. This old quip has hit a bit too close to home for Texans this year. We are less than two months removed from a devastating polar vortex that could yet prove to be the costliest...
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...