News
Beginning of Water Conservation Period
The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District’s Water Conservation Period starts Monday, May 1st and extends through the end of September— the time when water use is at its peak. Since January 2016, groundwater levels in the District have been above drought...
Lawmakers working to create special districts to fuel Boerne-area growth
Developers behind two large subdivisions proposed in Kendall County are asking the Legislature to create a pair of special districts to help finance construction of roads and other infrastructure. Some residents are upset over not being alerted earlier by state and...
Legislature considering special use water district
Jessica Goode | Boerne Star | Slipping in with the proposition of a new development, another special purpose water district is on the Texas legislative floor. If it passes, Senate Bill 914, sponsored by Republican Senator Donna Campbell, will create the Kendall County...
Groundwater district prepares for damaging bills
Jessica Goode | Boerne Star | Trying to stay ahead of potentially detrimental legislation, Cow Creek Groundwater and Conservation District directors listened to a litany of proposed house and senate bills that threaten local control and aquifer sustainability. At the...
Sansom: A living memorial for Buffalo Bayou’s best friend
Five magnificent Bur oaks planted along Buffalo Bayou west of downtown in Eleanor Tinsley Park will be dedicated on Tuesday in memory of Terese Tarlton "Terry" Hershey. Hershey died in January at 94, leaving behind a legacy of conservation and activism as towering as...
Visit these at-risk Hill Country water sources, while you still can
Imagine sitting on the edge of a spring-fed pool with your feet dangling in the ice cold water on a hot summer's day. That vision might become a reality of the past. Caretakers of San Marcos, Comal, and Jacob's Well springs are struggling to protect sources of the...
‘No Land No Water’ campaign promotes conservation
When it rains in Texas, it falls predominantly on a privately-owned farm, ranch or timberland. How that land is managed will have consequences for the future of Texas water. That’s a cornerstone message of “No Land No Water,” a new public awareness campaign of the...
HCA Welcomes New Staff to Expand Landowner Outreach Program
The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) recently named Daniel Oppenheimer as its new Landowner Outreach and Development Manager to lead the organization’s efforts to connect with landowners in the Hill Country. Founded in 2005, the Hill Country Alliance is a non-profit...
50 Years Ago, This Was a Wasteland. He Changed Everything
J. David Bamberger discusses the restoration of Selah Bamberger Ranch Preserve in this National Geographic short film showcase from director Ben Masters. "My objective was to find the worst piece of land I could possibly find in the Hill Country of Texas and begin a...
As controversy swirls, feral hog bait manufacturer pulls out of Texas
A grand experiment by Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller to hasten “the feral hog apocalypse” is on hold after the company producing a bait meant to kill the destructive animals has asked the Texas Agriculture Department to withdraw its approval of the product....
TSCRA Hears Update On Eminent Domain Bills; Action Is Needed
Colleen Schreiber | Livestock Weekly | According to the U.S. Census Bureau, between 2000 and 2010, more people moved to Texas than the populations of Montana, Wyoming, both Dakotas, Vermont, and Alaska combined. The same thing is predicted from 2010 to 2020. Of...
Legislature to tackle adding groundwater conservation district in southwestern Travis County
Across Texas, 100 locally-governed groundwater conservation districts are tasked with regulating groundwater, protecting the groundwater supply and researching conservation methods within their boundaries. However, southwestern Travis County is one of the only areas...
Captive deer must retain tags
The captive deer breeder industry has spent a fortune over the last four legislative sessions proposing laws to bulldoze prudent regulation of their industry in an attempt to squeeze more dollars out of Texas bucks. Texans collectively own all wildlife in the state....
Groundwater bills put some officials, residents on edge
Hays County officials are concerned recent legislation filed at the state Capitol could put groundwater oversight within the county at risk for the second time in as many legislative sessions. In 2015, Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, authored legislation that...
Three Bills Aim to Ensure Clean Water Recharges the Edwards Aquifer
State Sen. José Menéndez (D-26) and State Reps. Donna Howard (D-48), and Tracy O. King (D-80) have filed bills that many believe are needed to protect the quality of the water in the Edwards Aquifer. Senate Bill 1796 (Menéndez)/House Bill 3036 (King) and House Bill...
Mason Pioneers Attend Texas Water Day at the Capitol
On March 22nd, past, present and future Pioneers of Mason High School attended Texas Water Day at the state Capitol. Pioneers Board of Directors member and President and CEO of the Texas Water Foundation, Carole Baker, invited the students to be a part of Texas Water...
Operators take action to darken skies around McDonald Observatory
Dark skies are surrounding the University of Texas’ McDonald Observatory at Fort Davis. And that’s a good thing. The Permian Basin Petroleum Association, in collaboration with the University of Texas McDonald Observatory, recently issued its recommended lighting...
West Travis County utility agency to Hamilton Pool Road developer: No water service for added project
Although Travis County Commissioners Court approved a preliminary plan March 7 for the first phase of Provence, a proposed neighborhood in the 17024 block of Hamilton Pool Road of the unincorporated portion of the county, the West Travis County Public Utility Agency...
How state agency-funded research often tilts toward development
When state transportation officials two years ago dismissed the possibility that endangered songbirds lived in a strip of southwest Travis County earmarked for a major highway, they relied on a familiar tool — environmental researchthey had commissioned. That road,...
ButterBike visits Junction
Each spring millions of monarch butterflies leave the mountains of Central Mexico, where they survived the winter, to begin their annual migration north. This spring they are accompanied by cyclist Sara Dykman (age 32) from Kansas who is biking 10,000 miles from the...
Conversations on Water Heating up at 85th Legislative Session
We’ve been tracking the latest in water news from the pink dome in Austin. This compilation of some of the most recent developments include conversations around a Hays County ranch looking to skirt groundwater pumping restrictions, a proposed law that would...
Commentary | South Texas to Trump: If you want our land to build a wall, come and take it
On Jan. 25, President Donald Trump ordered “the immediate construction of a physical wall on the southern border.” His pledge to “build the wall” and make Mexico pay for it, was a big applause line on the campaign trail. In Texas, however, many are concerned about...
New USGS assessment provides fresh insights into nation’s brackish groundwater inventory
A new nationwide assessment by the U.S. Geological Survey suggests that the nation’s brackish groundwater could help stretch limited freshwater supplies. This study, the first of its kind in more than 50 years, found that the amount of brackish groundwater underlying...
Are Your Streetlights Killing You?
“Not only is blue-rich white LED street lighting five times more disruptive to our sleep cycle than conventional street lighting, according to the report, but recent large surveys have documented that brighter residential nighttime lighting is associated with reduced...
Water woes: Texas lawmakers must protect our precious streams, creeks, rivers and watering holes
It's hard to imagine a Hill Country bereft of winding rivers, fast-running streams, lazy creeks and deep, green swimming holes. Where would Mystic, Waldemar and Flaming Arrow campers go to canoe, swim and lounge? If the Blanco River no longer traveled through its...
Commentary: Investing in nature is a better way to meet America’s needs
Ask Texans about their favorite landscape and you’re likely to get more than a dozen different answers. That’s because Texas, second only to Alaska in land size, has a rich array of landscapes to choose from. Our state offers nearly every major habitat type on earth....
The Stars at Night
A satellite map of light pollution in the United States shows the country split down the middle, with nearly everything to the east full of light and broad swaths of the west still dark. The Interstate 35 corridor forms the boundary between the two; immediately west...
TPWD Announces 2016-17 Season CWD Monitoring Results
Texas records first cases of disease in free-ranging whitetail, elk AUSTIN – Texas recorded a couple of unwanted firsts for chronic wasting disease (CWD) during statewide surveillance efforts for the 2016-17 collection year, including detections in a free-ranging...
Austin environmental report: SH 45 SW construction could harm cave, aquifer
The environment in Austin remains preserved and protected despite its tremendous growth over the past few decades, said Chuck Lesniak, the city’s environmental officer, in the annual State of Our Environment report published on Thursday. The city’s environmental...
A milestone in Edwards recharge protection
Thursday, the San Antonio City Council considers purchase of a conservation easement on the 2,800-acre Middle Verde Ranch in Medina County. If approved, this will effectively mark the final expenditure from the $90 million Edwards Aquifer Protection Program fund...