News
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...
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...
‘Lights Out’: Austin businesses to turn off lights overnight to save migrating birds
On Tuesday, the Travis County Commissioners Court voted to approve an effort to get Travis County residents and businesses to turn off some of their lights to help save birds’ lives. The statewide initiative asks residents and businesses to turn off non-essential...
It’s (past) time to save our rural land heritage
On Tuesday, May 11, 2021, from 6:00 – 7:00pm, the Comal County Conservation Alliance (CCCA) will host an evening program on “Saving our Rural Land Heritage.” Guest speakers are David K. Langford of the Hillingdon Ranch in Kendall County, and Rob and Teresa Ohlrich...
Graphic documentary shines light on wildlife killing contests
San Antonio’s Pam Harte felt compelled to tackle the controversial issue of wildlife killing contests after witnessing the weigh-in at one Texas’ biggest killing competitions in 2018. The episode moved Pam and her husband Will Harte, who now live and work on a storied...
Boerne, Texas, is a Hill Country Hideaway
Texas is good at keeping its gems hidden. It secures many of them far, far away from city limits, down long deserted roads or secluded in dusty corners, and if you want to find them, you're better off wandering in a rented Mustang convertible than following...
Bill Neiman’s Native American Seed Farm in the Texas Hill Country is on a mission to help people restore the earth.
Mid-September, half a year before Texas wildflower season starts, and it’s been terribly dry and horribly hot at the Native American Seed Farm northeast of Junction. The rains of spring and summer pretty much quit back in June. This morning, in the dark, Bill Neiman...
Calling all birders: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Texas Parks & Wildlife Department need citizen scientists
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department are asking citizen scientists to help monitor black-capped vireos from April 10th to July 1 at Inks Lake State Park and Lost Maples State Natural Area in Texas. The previously endangered...
Analysis: The fight over local control turns to representation — and lobbyists
Efforts to bar local governments from hiring outside lobbyists or joining associations that lobby the state government are gaining steam, after falling short two years ago. If Texas lawmakers go ahead with current proposals, they’ll be hurting small towns more than...
Texas lawmakers want to prevent another power crisis. But the legislation doesn’t go far enough to do that, critics say.
Both the Texas Senate and House have written bills that attempt to prevent another massive power failure in extreme temperatures. But parts of their legislative proposals are drawing criticism for not going far enough to prepare electricity infrastructure for...
Nature-based infrastructure bill headed to House floor as Legislative session continues
Texas State Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) presented several house bills for the 87th Texas Legislative Session in committees this week, one of which is heading to the house floor. Zwiener presented House Bill 48 to the House International Relations and Economic...
House Bill 3883: Good legislation for the Hill Country
NOTE: Although this article was written for a Kendall County audience, the bill itself would apply throughout the Hill Country Priority Groundwater Management Area (PGMA), covering all of Bandera, Blanco, Gillespie, Kendall, and Kerr Counties, as well as parts of...
SJWTX updates drought-management plan to align with regional water-planning efforts
In an email to customers on Thursday, the comany announced it has updated its Drought Management Plan to promote resource conservation and align with regional water-planning efforts. The utility said it is trying to balance the area’s growing demand for water against...
3 lessons from a Texas groundwater district on managing during drought
The Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District in central Texas urges residents to “please protect your aquifer by limiting water use.” The district manages groundwater in Hays County, Texas, one of the top five fastest-growing counties in the U.S. Due to drought,...
Here’s what to expect this wildflower season, how to identify Central Texas species
Despite Winter Storm Uri bringing subfreezing temperatures to Central Texas in February, a prominent number of flowers should still bloom across Central Texas this wildflower season, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department. Although slightly later than...
Buda looking at options for residential and commercial trash, recycling plans
The city of Buda is examining its solid waste and recycling program. Deputy City Manager Micah Grau said during a March 23 City Council meeting options for residential and commercial services are about to open back up following the December 2021 conclusion of Buda’s...
City Of Austin says it might permanently close Barton Springs if Texas bill becomes law
A bill filed to reduce federal oversight of the Texas fossil fuel industry could also force the closure of one of the state’s most iconic swimming holes: Barton Springs Pool. House Bill 1683, filed by Republican state Rep. Brooks Landgraf, would prohibit state...