News
Grand Canyon is the Dark Sky Place of the Year. Here’s why that’s big
Lots of hard work went into making Grand Canyon an even better place to enjoy the night sky in recent years and that effort has been recognized. Grand Canyon National Park has been named Dark Sky Place of the Year by the International Dark-Sky Association. The park...
Geneva to be plunged into darkness (on purpose) to expose light pollution
Almost 150 municipalities in greater Geneva will hold a planned blackout on Thursday night to raise public awareness of the negative effects of light pollution. Authorities across much of greater Geneva will switch off public lighting on the night of Thursday...
Map shows proposed oil pipeline’s route across Hill Country West of San Antonio
A planned crude oil and condensate pipeline across the Texas Hill Country would cross over the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone on its route from West Texas to south of San Antonio, according to a map obtained by the Rivard Report. A set of slides from Houston-based...
TxDOT unveils plan to widen Loop 1604
Colleen Waguespack, president of Northside Neighborhoods for Organized Development, is among thousands of Northsiders familiar with the challenges that come with driving Loop 1604. Waguespack and more than 100 others gathered at Resurrection Baptist Church on Redland...
One Water in action: Travis County Courthouse
This summer, Travis County broke ground on the new Civil and Family Court Building. The 435,000 square foot facility is located at 1700 Guadalupe Street and sits on 1.46-acres. It is located in the northern part of downtown which is rapidly being re-developed. Travis...
Houston company proposes crude oil pipeline across Edwards Aquifer
A Houston pipeline company is planning to build a new crude oil pipeline across the Hill Country that would almost certainly pass over the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer, the main drinking water supply for the San Antonio region. Landowners in Bandera County...
Voters should confirm groundwater district in November
I’ve been saying for a long time that we need a groundwater conservation district in western Travis County, and now we can confirm our very own this November. Southwestern Travis County Groundwater Conservation District covers 200 square miles of southwest Travis...
Ensuring One Water delivers for healthy waterways
Texas Living Waters is an active advocate for the One Water approach because it offers tremendous opportunities for improving how water is managed. Even so, we are concerned that the available One Water implementation frameworks are not providing adequate guidance or...
Reflections on Texas, the outdoors and 40 years of writing and photography
Shannon Tompkins, who retires as September arrives and hunting seasons begin, has covered outdoor recreation and natural resources issues for four decades. September’s arrival marks a time of transition for Texas’ natural world and those whose hearts and actions are...
A world rocked: Communities clamor for regulation as Texas mining industry explodes
Kevin Baum gazes out from his second-floor porch across his 12-acre slice of Texas Hill Country heaven. On a cloudy day, he points past live oak trees and a kaleidoscope of wildflowers to Horseshoe Bay 20 miles to the south. When it’s clear, he says, he sees 30 miles...
Splash Into Science Snorkel Program launches at Spring Lake
Spring Lake is renowned for being one of the most biologically diverse aquatic ecosystems in the country. While many visitors view Spring Lake’s artesian springs and teeming aquatic life on a glass-bottom boat, one can now get a closer look by enrolling in a new...
Kyle amends pipeline-related ordinance, files motion to dismiss Kinder Morgan’s lawsuit
Lawyers for the city of Kyle filed a motion Sept. 11 to dismiss Kinder Morgan’s lawsuit against the city, based in part on the City Council’s adoption, two days earlier, of an amended version of the pipeline development ordinance on which the suit was based. “Because...
San Marcos City Council passes resolution for support of Emerald Crown Trail
The San Marcos City Council voted 7-0 to pass a resolution for support of the Emerald Crown Regional Trail Proposal on Tuesday. The Emerald Crown Trail is a proposed regional trail system that aims to connect Hays County cities and ultimately cities to the North and...
Texas environmental commission denies waste permit after residents rally against new facility
Colorado County officials on Wednesday won the latest round of a five-year fight to prevent a waste processing near the Colorado River that they say would contaminate ground and surface water for thousands of rural Texans. During a Texas Commission on Environmental...
Building a water-resilient future for all Texans
After heavy rains last winter and early this summer, Texas is seeing a rapid return to hot, bone-dry conditions. While we watch our lawns brown and wait for the rains to return, the age-old question echoes again, “Does fast-growing Texas, which is adding 1,000 new...
Austin’s eels born in the Sargasso Sea, surmount Longhorn Dam
You’ve heard of the endemic salamanders that live in Barton Springs, but did you know that Austin is also home to nocturnal eels? Swimmers who frequent the springs by moonlight sometimes catch a glimpse of sinuous yellow eels moving slowly through strands of algae and...
The credible case for One Water
The state of Texas is a behemoth. At some 268,820 square miles — from the Piney Woods of East Texas, the Texas Hill Country and the Texas Panhandle to the desert mountains of West Texas and the Texas Gulf Coast — the Lone Star State encompasses disparate climate...
‘Endless source of water’: Texas man plans to take machine to Bahamas to aid recovery
Families in Flint, Mich., still dealing with lead in their pipes have a continuous source of clean, free water thanks to a Texas man who developed a machine to pull water from the air. Now, Moses West wants to take that machine to the Bahamas to aid in recovery after...
Deal keeps four lakes intact for now
The Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority won’t drain its four remaining lakes on the Guadalupe River, but all recreation on the water will soon be banned, at least temporarily. Those are the major terms of a legal settlement approved Monday by a judge and announced in a...
What’s porous paving? All new lots in New Orleans must have in city’s fight with water woes
New Orleans is a city often inundated by water and, just as often, a city frustrated in its attempts to deal with it. Now, joining a movement that supporters say will help mitigate flooding and soil subsidence, the City Council has decided that all new commercial...
State-funded studies help federal agency remove two mussels from endangered species candidate list
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has determined that two Texas mussels can be removed from the list of candidate species under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The determinations were based mainly on research funded by the Texas Comptroller’s office...
Moonlight helps white barn owls stun their prey
Barn owls are skilled nocturnal hunters, swooping across open landscapes to scout out small rodents that scurry below. But scientists have long been puzzled by a trait that seems like it would work against the birds during their nighttime prowls. Some barn owls boast...
In latest development, SOAH disagrees with citizen groups on proposed Vulcan Quarry
External Article - Press Release from Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry State Office of Administrative Hearings administrative law judges Rebecca Smith and Victor Simonds rendered a long-awaited decision Tuesday morning in the contested case hearing against Vulcan Construction...
Underground lakes part of major new discoveries at Natural Bridge Caverns
A 19-hour trip deep into the caves at Natural Bridge Caverns in July led to some major new discoveries, including underground lakes and massive rooms. Brad Wuest and Travis Wuest, who own and operate Natural Bridge Caverns, were joined by Bill Steele on their journey...
San Marcos River Foundation names new executive director
The San Marcos River Foundation announced its new executive director on Friday. Virginia Parker Condie was selected by the SMRF’s Board of Directors. The SMRF says Condie will provide the foundation with a wide range of experience and a deep passion for the San Marcos...
This land is your land: Local property owners in eminent domain battle
Few people know much about the issue of eminent domain when it comes to underground pipelines being laid out across the state of Texas. Even fewer people are fighting it. Several Erath County landowners say they are willing to defend their property right, and are...
Citizens continue to fight Comal County quarry, push for statewide reforms
External Article - By Stop 3009 Vulcan Quarry In the fall of 2018, hundreds of citizens and groups in Comal County continued the fight against Vulcan Construction Materials’ proposed 1500-acre limestone quarry, located over the Edwards Aquifer between New Braunfels...
The butterfly effect: Native milkweed can save monarchs – if you know how to grow it
Barbara Keller-Willy remembers her reaction when fellow Texas gardeners told her that native milkweed, a plant essential for the survival of the monarch butterfly, was nearly impossible to grow: How hard could it be? It was 2009, and Keller-Willy had just quit her job...
Watering limits loom as aquifer drops amid heat
So far, the San Antonio area has escaped outdoor watering restrictions this summer, but that could change next month. In the past several weeks, the Edwards Aquifer has dropped sharply and is approaching the level that triggers the first stage of cutbacks. July and...
New tools for flood preparedness available for Medina River near Bandera, Texas
New tools for flood preparedness are now available for the Medina River near Bandera, Texas, from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bandera County River Authority and Groundwater District, and the Texas Water Development Board. Resources include two new USGS real-time...