News
Axis deer management project underway in Hill Country
Axis deer are an exotic game species first introduced in the Texas Hill Country in the 1930s. Since then, the population has grown exponentially, leading to groups launching an Axis Deer Control project. There are currently more than 6,000 free-range Axis deer in...
Texas Parks and Wildlife honors Black conservation heroes, past and present
Though often unheralded in their own times, Black contributions to conservation, parks, outdoor recreation and more are significant and will be celebrated throughout February’s Black History Month programs from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Park rangers...
What Dallas, Houston, Louisville & Rochester can teach us about widening freeways: Don’t!
Once upon a time, Portland held itself out as a national example of how to build cities that didn’t revolve (so much) around the private automobile. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, it recognized that building more freeways just generated more traffic, and it tore out one...
This land is our land
Gabe Vasquez first visited New Mexico when he was 8 years old, during a fishing trip to the Rio Grande with his father and older brother. They traveled from their home just south of the border in Ciudad Juárez and planned to camp in state parks along the river. Even...
2020 successes in the Hill Country
There is nothing more exciting than wrapping up a great conservation project, and Texas Land Conservancy finalized three of them in the Hill Country during 2020. Silencio, Danner, and Baradhi ranches make up 1,743 acres of beautiful and diverse habitats. Each one...
US agency cancels Trump policy on conservation purchases
U.S. Interior Department officials on Thursday canceled a Trump administration directive that gave local and state officials power to block purchases of land and water for conservation. Acting Interior Secretary Scott de la Vega rescinded a November order from former...
Birds at home: Watch them come and go
Are you ready for the return of some precedented events in our lives? We have endured so much uncertainty over the last year, but fortunately (and with weather aside), nature and wildlife remain a reliable source of predictability. The lives of birds cycle through...
AACOG-led consortium seeks Sentinel Landscape status for JBSA-Camp Bullis
Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis sits astride the Southern Edwards Plateau on the Northwest edge of San Antonio. This gem of JBSA is vital to military training and readiness as it provides a rugged tactical training area in this Texas Hill Country landscape...
BEC, LCRA award $21,000 grant to expand recycling efforts in Real County
Keep it Real Beautiful (KIRB) will soon purchase its own recycling equipment and expand its outreach program, thanks to a $21,000 grant from the Bandera Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority. The grant, along with $4,920 in matching funds from...
January 2021 Hydro Report
Flow at Jacob’s Well is approaching zero. The USGS daily average for January 21 was 0.9 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is up slightly after rainfall earlier this week. Flow in the upper reaches of the Blanco River is reliant on baseflow provided by Trinity...
Requests for Qualifications: Blanco River Water Reclamation Task Force
Important note: Deadline for submission extended to 2/26/2021 The Blanco Water Reclamation Task Force (Task Force) was formed in September 2020 when the Blanco City Council, with a unanimous vote on Sept. 8, committed to a partnership with local NGO, Protect Our...
Soaking up rising floodwaters in growing cities
Texas cities are expanding fast. Between 2010 and 2019, six of the 15 fastest-growing cities in the United States were in Texas. Bigger cities mean less land to soak up rainwater, leading to increased flood risk. Add climate change to the equation, and you have a...
Stream Team program celebrates 30 years of citizen science, stewardship of Texas waterways
The Texas Stream Team, a program of The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, is celebrating 30 years of citizen science and environmental stewardship. More than 11,000 trained citizen scientists have participated in The Meadows...
Rain, wind and fire: What La Niña means for Texas’ winter fire season
Texas’ winter/spring wildfire season is about to begin. Fire experts predict it could be a particularly active season due in large part to the presence of La Niña this year. The weather pattern often brings drier, warmer weather, and strong winds: the perfect recipe...
Land Revival
When prospective landowners look for their slice of Hill Country, they may look for running water, mature trees, bluebonnets, a scenic vista, or a pristine canvas. Not Paula Stone. When Stone first set eyes on her property at the edge of Fredericksburg, her realtor...
Financial, ecological benefits of conservation easements on working lands
A recent report by the Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute, Texas Water Resources Institute and Texas Land Trust Council shows state-funded conservation easements in Texas provide numerous financial and ecological benefits. The purpose of the 2020 Evaluation...
How you can help rebuild the Mason County courthouse destroyed in a fire
For over a century the Mason County courthouse stood as a landmark in the center of town. The tower, with its 150-year-old clock, ticked the hours away. Late Thursday night, the clock stopped. A blaze ripped through the historical building as distraught residents...
Electo Purification ends contested case hearing in Hays County
On February 4, 2021, the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) approved Electro Purification’s (EP) request to cancel the trial-like hearing where Hays County, the Trinity Edwards Springs Protection Association (TESPA), and 13 local landowners were set to...
It’s time to pay attention to the water we cannot see
Texas’ rivers are iconic. The groundwater that sustains them is invisible. We see the dichotomy in state law. Naturally flowing water in rivers and streams is owned by the state and held in trust for the public good. That’s because we can see that water and what it...
Clean water projects in Texas awarded $72M from EPA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) $72,632,000 to provide low-interest loans to fund clean water projects in Texas. EPA provided the grant under the Clean Water Act’s Clean Water State Revolving...
Black conservationists and scientists who led the way
Some of the Black leaders on this list are well known. Some lesser so. But all of them have made an indelible mark on the understanding and preservation of our natural world. They have served as trailblazers in fields that have not always had the benefit of a...
Survey window opens for draft Hays County Transportation Plan
Your time is now to comment on Hays County’s Transportation Plan update, which has been in development since the summer. Virtual Open House Round 2 and public input survey (due by Feb. 7) are available online: https://www.haystransportationplan.com/open-house-2 A...
Inside the McDonald Observatory’s mission to preserve the darkest skies in West Texas
Bill Wren remembers the night sky rising like wallpaper above him when he was a child in rural Missouri. But after a move to Houston in 1970 when he was 15, lights from the city’s sprawl obscured all but a few stars. It wasn’t until he was 21 years old, on a camping...
‘Everything was there and then it wasn’t’: Developers allowed to skirt tree ordinance
In 2019, a city environmental plans examiner emailed then-state Rep. Roland Gutierrez to inform him he had violated San Antonio’s tree preservation ordinance by chopping down a large heritage oak without a permit on a lot he was developing. “There will be a work...
Will nature go mainstream in 2021?
One of the many things we’ve learned from the global shock of COVID-19 is just how intertwined humanity is with nature. A wildlife-borne pathogen has infected more than 70 million people, disrupted global supply chains, spotlighted inequities and exposed new...
Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM) invited to contribute to House Interim Committee’s Study on Aggregate Production Operations
Hill Country Alliance - Community Program Note: The Hill Country Alliance is an active member of the Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining (TRAM) coalition. Quarries, gravel mines, sand mines, and concrete batch plants are increasingly posing significant challenges...
Editorial: Rivers are lifeblood of region
The owners of a youth camp near Vanderpool have filed a request for a permit to discharge 60,000 gallons of treated wastewater per day into a tributary of the Sabinal River. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which has jurisdiction in the matter, should...
San Antonio River Foundation: Working to make the river vibrant, healthy, and accessible to ALL
Did you know that the San Antonio River Authority (River Authority) has a non-profit partner organization called the San Antonio River Foundation? Established in 2003, the San Antonio River Foundation’s efforts focus on four main pillars that guide our work:...
Partners Launch Axis Deer Control Project in Texas Hill Country
LEARN MORE: You can learn more about ongoing efforts related to the Axis Deer Control Project here. [vcex_divider style="solid" icon_color="#000000" icon_size="14px" margin_top="20px" margin_bottom="20px"] The Hill Country Alliance, Texas Tech University’s Department...
Kerrville approves resolution asking for review of rock crushing plant near manufacturing plants
The Kerrville City Council unanimously approved a resolution that notes its opposition to a rock and concrete operation that would be sited near three of the city's most important manufacturing operations. The proposed rock crushing would be located just south of...