News
For stay-at-home stress relief, San Antonians turn to gardening
Stir crazy from the coronavirus stay-at-home quarantine, San Antonians are moving outside to relieve stress, gain a sense of control, and enjoy the wonders of spring. City officials have permitted local nurseries to remain open while San Antonio and Bexar County are...
County resolution supports efforts to preserve darkness
The stars at night are big and bright — and disappearing from view deep in the heart of Texas. That was the consensus of a standing-room-only audience this week as the Kendall County Commissioners Court heard comments from concerned citizens in support of a resolution...
Crops to cul-de-sacs: As pastoral land disappears in Central Texas, one man holds back the tide
From the cab of his pickup, Ron Collins gives a tour of a bygone era, when his Pilot Knob neighborhood in southeastern Travis County was a country outpost, home to his extended family, which traces its roots there back more than a century. Here is where his old...
Supporting local Hill Country news
As the country reacts to a global pandemic, we know that finding regionally appropriate and accurate news sources is a priority for our readers. Our local newspapers are working overtime to make sure we have all the coverage we need during this strange time. Now is...
Director’s Notes – March 2020: HCA in the era of Coronavirus
Dear Hill Country Neighbors, It’s hard to start a letter addressing the unprecedented reality we find ourselves in. The Covid-19 outbreak has shown us just how critical our Hill Country community is to the work of the Hill Country Alliance. There is no replacement for...
Hays Trinity GCD announces Jacobs Well Spring Groundwater Management Zone
On March 5, 2020, the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District Board of Directors passed a new rule—Rule 15, Jacob’s Well Groundwater Management Zone—to better protect water resources and springflow during drought. This action comes in response to community...
Hill Country Alliance 14th annual photo contest kicks off
The Texas Hill Country is a unique region of pristine springs, sprawling landscapes, diverse wildlife, star-filled skies, multi-generational land stewards, historic towns, and hidden oases. With a rapidly growing population and increasing development coming into the...
AgriLife Extension provides auxin CEU training online
COVID-19 might have much of the world social distancing, but agricultural crops still must be planted, and producers still have regulations to follow. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service is ready to help the process. Agricultural producers needing auxin training...
New financial program available for Texas communities
A new financial assistance program will soon become available to assist in the funding of drainage, flood mitigation, and flood control projects. On Nov. 5, Texas voters approved Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment providing for the creation of the Flood...
Is it okay to visit Texas Parks during the Coronavirus Pandemic?
Earlier this month, I went shopping at H-E-B and bought more food than I needed. But I wasn’t stocking up my bunker; I was buying supplies for a camping trip at Big Bend National Park. Back then—a whole couple of weeks ago—the new coronavirus still felt relatively...
No flights cancelled for birds or butterflies
South Central Texas and the Texas Hill Country are in the central flyway for migratory birds flying north for spring and summer breeding, according to Bexar Audubon Society (BAS) in San Antonio, which is officially the local National Audubon Society (NAS) chapter for...
Americans coping with the Coronavirus are clogging toilets
Many Americans seem to be following the recommendations of public health officials to clean and sterilize countertops, doorknobs, faucets and other frequently touched surfaces in their homes. The problem? Many are then tossing the disinfectant wipes, paper towels and...
Historically high numbers of Americans approve of hunting
The vast majority of Americans approve of hunting according to Responsive Management, an internationally recognized survey research firm in natural resource and outdoor recreation issues. A recent survey in conjunction with the National Shooting Sports Foundation...
Getting groceries in Austin during a pandemic: Where to shop, how to help employees
Grocery store employees are working overtime, and it’s nearly impossible to schedule a curbside pickup or delivery from Austin’s major supermarkets and stores. Local community-supported agriculture programs are full, and one of the biggest local food delivery...
Rural Texas hospitals should be staffing up to face coronavirus. Many can’t afford to.
At a time when most hospitals are ramping up capacity to treat a massive number of patients who may become infected with COVID-19, rural hospital administrators say financial hardships could force them to do the opposite. Before the contagious new coronavirus arrived...
Eastern monarch butterfly population plunges below extinction threshold
The yearly count of monarch butterflies overwintering in Mexico, released today, shows a decrease of 53% from last year's count and is well below the threshold at which government scientists predict the migration could collapse. Scientists estimate that 6...
These Texas organizations are helping people during the pandemic — and here’s how you can, too
As schools close and thousands of people across the country are being laid off due to the new coronavirus pandemic, many Texans are finding themselves stuck at home with no income or access to necessary resources like food or medical supplies. In response to growing...
Kerrville Folk Fest rescheduled for October 8-18, 2020
It is with heavy yet hopeful hearts that we are rescheduling the 49th celebration of the Kerrville Folk Festival. Our 2020 Festival will be held at Quiet Valley Ranch on October 8 thru October 18. This replaces Welcome Home Fest, which will not be held in 2020. The...
Blanco County’s night skies celebrated in song
Some of the Hill Country’s most talented songwriters and performers gathered on Thursday, March 12 in the Back 40 of the Old 300 BBQ on Blanco’s Town Square to celebrate the night sky in song. The cause for celebration was the CD Release Party for “Deep in the Dark...
Getting out: At a time of social distancing, people look to nature
With the spread of the new coronavirus causing school closures and mandatory work-from-home measures across San Antonio, people are looking to nature as a place to get exercise and find a source of peace, even while staying at least 6 feet away from each other, as...
Rare native prairie near Texarkana preserved by family, conservation groups
Fifth-generation Texans, David and John Talbot of New Boston, in February 2020 sold one of the last examples of unplowed native prairie in northeast Texas to the Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT) for permanent preservation as the Talbot Brothers Prairie...
Protecting the Edwards Aquifer means protecting the contributing zone
The total Edwards Aquifer watershed north of San Antonio is 2.5 million acres, composed of 2 million acres in the Contributing Zone and 500,000 acres in the Recharge Zone. To protect the total watershed, we must protect land and water in both zones, not just one of...
Recovering America’s Wildlife Act
Our natural world provides innumerable benefits to human health and economic prosperity. As wildlife and their habitats disappear, these benefits are compromised. Nationwide, experts have identified more than 12,000 Species of Greatest Conservation Need, including...
Important Update: Hill Country Living FESTIVAL Rescheduled for October 24, 2020
Vendors, Sponsors, Partners and Volunteers: Considering recent developments pertaining to COVID-19, and out of an abundance of caution, the Hill Country Alliance FESTIVAL planning team decided yesterday to RESCHEDULE the 4/4/20 Hill Country Living FESTIVAL + Rainwater...
NRCS announces 2020 sign-up available for partnership led conservation program
Producers should visit their local USDA service center before the first application pool closes on April 3, 2020, to apply for this opportunity. If funding permits, a second application pool will close May 15, 2020. If already a USDA client, a producer can submit...
Portman, bipartisan colleagues introduce the Great American Outdoors Act
U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Steve Daines (R-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Richard Burr (R-NC) today introduced S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act – landmarklegislation to...
Troubled waters: San Antonio weighs the cost of preserving its water supply
Taxpayers have spent $260 million to protect the Edwards Aquifer. With the tax set to expire, officials can’t agree on how much more to spend. The Frio River snaked south through the hills of Uvalde County, its clear waters coursing over a bed of white, fractured...
Hill Country Alliance: Meet Executive Director Katherine Romans
Once again the Hill Country Alliance (HCA) is hosting their spring Hill Country Living FESTIVAL + Rainwater Revival (April 4, 2020). And their fifteenth anniversary looms, all of which makes for a great excuse to sit down with the nonprofit’s executive director,...
Groundwater key to Southwest water policy
Western water conversations often revolve around rivers and streams. But water beneath the surface is just as important in shaping water policy and preparing for the future. Hydrologists and water planners from the western U.S. gathered at a National Groundwater...
February 2020 citizen scientist spotlight: Tyson Broad
In addition to serving as the Watershed Coordinator for the Llano River Watershed Alliance, Tyson Broad serves on the Steering Committee of the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network. Texas Stream Team is welcoming 2020 with Tyson Broad as the first Citizen Scientist...