News
Private land conservation’s role in mitigating flood risk
There is little debate among scientists that our climate is changing, and in Texas that has meant ever-larger storm events resulting in catastrophic flooding. This Earth Day, we should take a moment to reflect on some potential solutions that can help our communities...
A North American Climate Boundary Has Shifted 140 Miles East Due to Global Warming
In the late 1800s, geologist and explorer John Wesley Powell first described a clear boundary running longitudinally through North America along the 100th meridian west that visibly separated the humid eastern part of the continent from the more arid western plains....
Asphalt is the last crop
Missed in the coverage of the recent release of the 2018 farm bill is an obscure program that will significantly impact the future of Texas. It is not a commodity program, nor does it deal with nutrition assistance. It is smaller in scope and cost than those programs,...
Texas Added Some 3 Million People Between 2010 and 2017. Here’s Where They Came From.
The constant drumbeat we hear from the national media is that Texas is the big destination inside the United States. More people are moving from other parts of the U.S. to Texas than to anywhere else. Related: New Census Data: Greater SA Home to 2 of Nation’s...
WTCPUA mulls Hamilton Pool Road water quality, The Backyard
Within a span of 24 hours, West Travis County Public Utility Agency board members hosted a town hall meeting, announced improvements slated for the coming year, approved water quality protections for the Hamilton Pool Road corridor and agreed to take a hard stance on...
Vulcan and TCEQ take heat at public hearing on concrete plant permit
Vulcan Materials has come under intense public criticism for its plan to open a concrete batch plant near a school in Kendall County, but The complaints came to a head last week at the agency’s public hearing on the requested permit for the plant, the final chance for...
Texas is making billions from oil and gas drilling, but counties say rural roads are being destroyed
Texas leads the nation in both oil and natural gas production. In the 2017 budget year, the oil production tax brought the state more than $2 billion in revenue, while the natural gas production tax brought in a little less than $1 billion. But none of that tax money...
Hill Country groups wanting more local land-use control
As the second fastest-growing county in the country according to U.S. Census Bureau data, Comal County, like others in the Hill Country, is coming face to face with industries that want to set up shop on land that is becoming more and more precious. Annalisa Peace,...
New Braunfels Utilities seeks community support for Headwaters project
Along the fault line that separates the Texas Hill Country from the Texas Coastal Plain, the largest freshwater spring system in Texas emerges from the ground in New Braunfels. New Braunfels Utility owns the 16-acre spot in the northwest part of town where the spring...
April HCA Director’s Notes
April is truly one of the most photogenic time of year for the Hill Country. As the seasons change, it’s wonderful to see new life emerging as nature seems to come alive again in the greening grasses and the pops of color here and there from wildflowers. Photos tell...
State-Owned Bexar County Ranch at the Center of Latest Warbler Fight
Rancho Sierra, a 2,317-acre property northwest of San Antonio, has everything – rugged hills, a ranch house, springs and seeps that form the headwaters of two creeks, and Mount Smith, the tallest point in Bexar County. It also has, according to surveys, an abundance...
Rare Central Texas songbird to fly off endangered species list
The population of the black-capped vireo, a rare Texas songbird, has recovered to such an extent that it will be moved off the endangered species list, U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials are expected to announce today. The lifting of habitat protections for the...
Blanco River Flood Mitigation Project San Marcos Community Meeting To Be Held
City Engineers will host a public meeting on Wednesday, April 18 in Room 2 of the San Marcos Activity Center, 501 E. Hopkins, at 6 p.m. to gather comments on proposed infrastructure projects that are being considered for flood mitigation on the Blanco River. “The goal...
Securing Texas’ water future, one lawn at a time
Texas’ frequent and inescapable droughts haven’t seemed to slow its growth. As people flock to our state, it follows that more of our limited water will be used on lawns. Studies have found that homeowners tend to overwater their lawns by two to three times the needed...
What happens to Texas when water is more valuable than oil?
Only a state as big as Texas could have to deal with the simultaneous crises of both rampant floods and devastating drought. The destruction of Hurricane Harvey and the massive infrastructure needs that it exposed along the Gulf Coast soaked up most of our attention...
Can ‘Localism’ Restore Sanity to U.S. Politics?
Our mayor is liberal. He drives around town with an Obama ’08 bumper sticker on his car. I am a conservative, pro-life Christian; in 2016, I voted for Evan McMullin for president. But our partisan political differences mean nothing when it comes to caring for this...
Austin named best place to live in America for second year in a row
It’s another good day to live in Austin, Texas. Last year, Austin knocked Denver from the No. 1 spot on U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Places to Live in the U.S.” And this year, it didn’t budge. As in years past, the publication ranked the 125 largest cities in...
PEC District 1 incumbent not running, 3 candidates vying for spot
As the candidate nomination process for the Pedernales Electric Cooperative board of directors deadline came to a close, the eligible list revealed that the incumbent from District 1 has chosen not to run for re-election. Three challengers will face off for the...
Texas Master Naturalists Hill Country Chapter accepting applications for class of 2018
Texas Master Naturalists (TXMN) is a corps of trained volunteers who provide education, outreach, and service dedicated to the beneficial management of the natural resources and natural areas of Texas. The organization is sponsored by Texas Parks and Wildlife...
Fungus that causes deadly bat disease spreads to Central Texas
The fungus that causes white-nose syndrome (WNS) in bats, detected for the first time in Texas in early 2017 in the Panhandle, has now spread into Central Texas. Though no bat deaths have been attributed to WNS in Texas, the syndrome has killed millions of bats in the...
Groundbreaking held for Gay Ruby Dahlstrom Preserve
Hays County joined Dahlstrom Family members in officially breaking ground today at the Gay Ruby Dahlstrom Nature Preserve, a 340.1 acre part of the Dahlstrom Family Ranch that will be available for passive nature activities when opened to the public later in 2018. “We...
Leadership at all stages of the urban water cycle, including your home
I learned in grade school that, in the water cycle, water evaporates from the ocean, condenses into clouds, falls as rain, runs into rivers, and flows back into the sea. However, we humans have intervened and significantly modified this natural cycle. In many of our...
Zebra mussels spotted in Lady Bird Lake; Lake Austin now ‘infested’
Zebra mussels have been spotted in Lady Bird Lake, and Texas wildlife officials now consider Lake Austin to be “infested” with the invasive species. Lady Bird Lake was upgraded to “suspect” status because mussels or their larvae have been found at least once after the...
Latino Rights Group, SAWS File Update in Long-Running Water Case
A national Latino rights advocacy group and San Antonio’s water utility submitted a filing this week in a long-quiet federal court case concerning whether Latinos are adequately represented in the entity that manages the Edwards Aquifer. It’s been six years since...
March Director’s Notes
Supporters and Friends, Spring is the perfect time to see the Texas Hill Country in all its glory! The warmer weather brings with it the beginning of many days spent swimming in our spring-fed rivers and streams. During this time of year, I am reminded why the Hill...
Burnet workhop provides landowners with information on conservation easements
The Hill Country Conservancy and the Hill Country Alliance are joining forces to host a landowner workshop from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday, April 20, 2018, at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office, 607 N. Vandeveer, Burnet, TX 78611. This workshop will focus...
US National Park Rangers Look to the Stars with Skywatching Training Program
The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has partnered with the McDonald Observatoryto create training programs for park rangers and improve skywatching events. The observatory, which is run by the University of Texas at Austin, will offer two workshops for national park...
Pioneers Taking on “Dark Sky” Project
In Mason, the students of the Pioneers Youth Leadership program have taken on Dark Sky Preservation as a focus for sharpening their leadership skills in their community. Working with their teacher Megan Bierschwale, Hill Country Alliance (HCA) Night Sky Program...
Coke, Nestle Near Ownership of World’s Second Largest Aquifer
A concerted push is underway in South America that could see one of the world’s largest reserves of fresh water soon fall into the hands of transnational corporations such as Coca-Cola and Nestle. According to reports, talks to privatize the Guarani Aquifer – a vast...
GBRA To Host Clean Rivers Program Steering Committee Meeting
The annual Clean Rivers Program Steering Committee meeting will be held at 1 p.m. Thursday, March 29, 2018, at the Guadalupe-Blanco River Authority (GBRA) River Annex building, 905 Nolan Street, Seguin, Texas. The meeting, which is open to the public and sponsored by...