News
Kolkhurst, Cyrier file bills to constitutionally dedicate funds for state and local parks
AUSTIN – At a press conference at the Texas Capitol, State Senator Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) and State Representative John Cyrier (R-Lockhart) today announced that they have filed companion legislation (SB 526 and HB 1214) to constitutionally dedicate revenue from...
Desalination has a waste problem
The waste product from desalination is growing too large to ignore, argues a paper from a United Nations think tank that provides the first estimate of global brine production from desalination. Producing fresh water in the driest parts of the world by removing the...
Could groundwater pumping cause the ground to sink? It’s possible, scientists say
For the last several years, scientists have warned of the sinking ground beneath cities along the Gulf Coast. Known as subsidence, it’s a strange phenomenon that gradually deflates the surface of the ground as groundwater is pumped from beneath. The threat has been...
Cow Creek leader reveals suspicions of WCID creation
Milan Michalec, president of the board of the Cow Creek Groundwater Conservation District, will address Boerne’s City Council on Tuesday night to question the propriety of WCID No. 3. Michalec describes shortfalls in the process as “egregious” and “secretive,” and...
Permit for popular Float Fest on San Marcos River denied
The Guadalupe County Commissioners Court voted on Thursday to deny a permit for Float Fest, just days after a study commissioned by organizers of the annual music festival showed it generated $12.3 million in total economic impact last year. Without a permit, which is...
After Hurricane Harvey, Texas senator eyes using state’s savings for flood control
Before the next Hurricane Harvey strikes and thousands of homes are damaged or destroyed, some Texas lawmakers want to make sure communities statewide are better prepared for floods. On Tuesday, state Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, filed legislation to establish...
Bills seek more protection for Texas landowners in eminent domain cases
A byproduct of the booming Texas economy and energy sector -- the increasing number of pipelines and transmission lines crisscrossing the state -- has left many property owners at the mercy of private companies that have authority to condemn land, two state lawmakers...
Kinder Morgan sets public meeting
Pipeline company says rerouting around Gillespie not an option Kinder Morgan, the pipeline company looking to cross Gillespie County and the Hill Country, will host a public meeting from 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 21 at the Gillespie County Fair Grounds. The open house...
Why aren’t Texas politicians standing up for Texas landowners?
In 2009 the Bureau of Land Management published a series of surveys in the Federal Register that laid claim to small strips of land between the medial line of the Red River—the invisible line down the middle of the waterway that constitutes the border between Texas...
Technology and renewables are key to battling climate change
As the long-term effects of climate change impacts natural resources, one study says it might also dig into the pocketbooks of energy consumers. With energy costs rising due to rising global temperatures, more entities are turning to renewable technologies to help...
Liberty Hill wastewater treatment plant accused of dumping chemicals into river
LEANDER, Texas — The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is investigating after getting a complaint about foam and a bleach odor being discharged from the Liberty Hill Wastewater Treatment Plant outfall into the San Gabriel River. Chemicals discharged Thursday...
Climate change could turn Earth’s aquifers into a time bomb
Groundwater is one of the most important resources on Earth. People use around 77 billion gallons of groundwater every day, nearly all of it originating in bodies of permeable rock known as aquifers. A new scientific study shows that if climate change wreaks havoc on...
Differing opinions on source of river algae during Liberty Hill town hall
LIBERTY HILL — An angry crowd faced off Tuesday night against city of Liberty Hill officials and engineers with their concerns that wastewater released into the South San Gabriel River by the city’s treatment plant was still causing algae in the river. Many people at...
Game ranch fined for pesticide misuse in Hill Country bat cave incident
The Texas Department of Agriculture slapped a $1,200 fine on the Star S Ranch near Mason this week for two violations of pesticide drift at the Eckert James River Bat Cave last summer. The six-month investigation found the Star S Ranch, which shares a fence line with...
Nationally renowned educational and environmental strategist joins Cibolo Nature Center & Farm team
January 22, 2018- BOERNE, Texas – Margaret Lamar has joined the Cibolo Nature Center & Farm(CNC&F) as the Chief Strategy Officer (CSO). In this position, she will lead and collaborate on key initiatives focusing on programming, fundraising, and conservation. ...
Don’t blow it: Unregulated wind farms encroach on pristine Texas wilderness
The Devils River Conservancy, is spearheading the “Don’t Blow It” campaign to advocate for thoughtful regulation of wind energy development — an industry quickly expanding in rural Texas, largely without rules and with serious negative implications for Texans. While...
GEAA fights Bulverde wastewater permits
Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (GEAA) will host a “strategy meeting” for ideas about how to fight a local developer’s attempt to release 300,000 gallons-per-day of treated sewage into Indian Creek, a tributary of Cibolo Creek in Comal County. The meeting regarding...
Conley to resign from CAMPO
Will Conley, the current chair of Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO),announced he plans to resign. According to CAMPO, Conley will stay on as chair until the group can find his replacement. Conley was appointed to the CAMPO board by the Hays...
Commentary: Austin’s Water Forward plan is a bold step into the future
It might be difficult to imagine a lack of water after all of the recent rain and flooding, but we know from history that there is one thing we can always count on in Texas: there will be another drought. During times of drought, supplies are already stretched razor...
Will exotics wipe out whitetails?
Exotic deer were brought into the Texas Hill County in the 1930s. Exotic numbers began to increase rapidly in the 1950’s, with the birth of the hunting industry. Exotic surveys by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department began in the 1960’s. At that time, there were 13...
January Director’s Notes: A Letter from HCA’s New Board President, Matt Lara
Thank you to board members past and present, friends, and supporters who joined us to toast the New Year in San Antonio! Dear Hill Country Neighbors, It is a privilege to serve as the new Board President of the Hill Country Alliance (HCA) and to work with my fellow...
Are pipeline land takings in the public interest if oil, gas headed overseas?
Pipeline companies in Texas and other states have long had the power to take land under the eminent domain principle that projects to transport energy to heat homes, generate electricity and produce fuels are in the public interest. But what if the public is in...
New push for eminent domain reform expected at Texas legislature
If you want to cook up a battle over private property rights in Texas, here’s the recipe: Take a handful of sprawling cities and growing populations that are expanding into once-rural areas, add a booming oil and gas industry with a desperate need for new pipelines to...
Thanks to ambitious goals, Austin wins Bloomberg climate change challenge
Citing Austin’s aggressive environmental goals, which include making municipal operations carbon neutral by 2020, Bloomberg Philanthropies on Friday announced that the Texas capital has won a national climate change challenge. The honor means Austin will join a...
How Texas Parks and Historic Sites are dealing with the government shutdown
As the federal shutdown—which entered Day 20 on Thursday—continues, self-appointed cleanup crews have been organized across the state as well as the nation to help care for parks that have remained open, albeit with little in the way of services. Some, like Viverette...
Entities turn to new technology to meet water, aquifer demands
As urbanization and climate change are impacting aquifers across the country, officials and municipalities are turning to new technologies to meet water demands. For many entities, investing in Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) systems might be the way to go. ASR,...
Bill would prevent Texans from unknowingly buying homes in areas designed to flood
After Hurricane Harvey inundated the Houston area with rain, scores of homeowners learned too late that their properties were designed to flood. Senate Bill 339 would require such disclosures. It would also force notice of whether a home has previously flooded. State...
Female ranchers are reclaiming the American West
As men leave animal agriculture for less gritty work, more ranches are being led by women — with new ideas about technology, ecology and the land. Hundreds of years before John Wayne and Gary Cooper gave us a Hollywood version of the American West, with men as the...
Texas land grab: How the federal government abused its power to seize property for a border fence
A decade ago, many border Texans got a raw deal when the federal government seized land for a barrier — while others pushed up the price. Will the government's rushed, haphazard process be repeated as it pushes for a border wall? BROWNSVILLE — The land agents started...
Texas Hill Country landowners fight Kinder Morgan pipeline
FREDERICKSBURG — Hank Sauer reminisces about the 18 years he’s owned these 45 acres a few miles south of Fredericksburg — hunting deer with his now-17-year-old grandson, spending holidays there with the family, and dreaming of spending the rest of his days with his...