News
SB 740, 741 and 742 – Taking Aim at Eminent Domain Reform
The Texans for Property Rights Coalition applauds the filing of SB 740, 741 and 742 aimed at eminent domain reform. The bills expand upon progress made in landmark 2011 eminent domain legislation. The three bills, authored by Senator Lois Kolkhorst, will help level...
Are There Any Lingering Drought Effects in Texas?
Micke Mecke | Ranch & Rural Living | Most of Texas has been blessed with average or above average rainfall for the past year or more! It is not uncommon to hear your TV weather folks say “The drought in Texas is over,” and often that is echoed in the local coffee...
Conference presentations from “Planning for Growth in Comal County”
Scientists, engineers, conservationist, and planners recently came together in New Braunfels for the two-day “Planning for Growth in Comal County” conference. The wide range of topics discussed included growth, public lands, watershed protection, and land...
Act today to protect and preserve rural Texas lands
It’s the beginning of another legislative session, and while water may not be top of the agenda, we’re never off the hook. Someday, this state will face another serious drought. Through its regional planning process, Texas is far ahead of most other states when it...
Ecology and the Land Steward
All landowners are practicing ecologists, whether they realize it or not. Ecology is not about hugging trees, environmental activism or even the love of nature. Ecology is the study of the interrelationships between and among all parts of the environment. These parts...
Next stop for Texas-NM water dispute: Supreme Court
Attorneys for the states of New Mexico and Texas learned yesterday that a lawsuit over the waters of the Rio Grande will head to the U.S. Supreme Court. For New Mexico, a lot is at stake. Though Texas also named Colorado in the suit, its real target is New Mexico....
Perceptions of Groundwater Survey
The Perceptions of Groundwater Survey is supported by the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment. Dr. Joni Charles, an Associate Professor of Economics at Texas State University, is conducting a research study to assess public perceptions of groundwater and...
‘A Conservative Climate Solution’: Republican Group Calls for Carbon Tax
A group of Republican elder statesmen is calling for a tax on carbon emissions to fight climate change. The group, led by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III, with former Secretary of State George P. Shultz and Henry M. Paulson Jr., a former secretary of the...
U.S. News & World Report names Austin best place to live in U.S.
A report confirms what many already know: Austin is the best place to live in the U.S., knocking Denver from the top spot in 2017. U.S. News & World Report surveyed people nationwide to find out what they consider important in a hometown. They then took those...
Rainwater Harvesting Tax Break Bill Filed in Austin
State Rep. Jason Isaac (R-Dripping Springs) has introduced a bill that could offer a tax break to homeowners with rainwater harvesting systems. The bill, HB 1334, allows the governing body of a taxing unit to exempt from taxation the portion of appraised value of a...
Austin approves review of Dripping Springs permit
Preliminary findings from Austin’s evaluation of Dripping Springs’ Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) draft permit shows the city “meets the criteria” for its beneficial reuse program. The city of Austin evaluated “potential impacts on the qualify of...
Astronomers Encourage Cities to Shield Outdoor Lighting
Our home galaxy, the Milky Way -- that iconic stream of stars coursing across the night sky -- cannot be seen by one-third of humanity and 80 percent of Americans. As the artificial glow from towns and cities increases every year, and starry nights become unfamiliar...
Chronic wasting disease found for first time in wild Texas white-tail deer
State wildlife officials are restricting the transport of live and dead white-tailed deer and requiring sampling of carcasses after the discovery of a fatal disease in a free-ranging deer this week. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Tuesday identified chronic...
TWDB approves $1,961,821 to City Of San Marcos for flood mitigation project
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) today approved by resolution financial assistance in the amount of $1,961,821 consisting of a $1,000,000 loan and $961,821 in loan forgiveness, from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to the City of San Marcos (Hays County)....
Texas Water Symposium planned for February 23 in San Marcos: Watershed Protection Plans: Creating and Maintaining Healthy Waterways at a Community Scale
The third Texas Water Symposium of the 2016-2017 season has been set for 7pm on Thursday, February 23rd at Texas State University Student Center LBJ Teaching Theater in San Marcos, Texas. The Texas Water Symposium is free and open to the public. With the population of...
Citing water conference fee, group claims state open meeting violation
The Texas Water Development Board, a state agency that plays a key role in financing reservoirs, pipelines and conservation projects, wants anyone with an interest in water planning to attend its Water for Texas conference in Austin this week. The registration fee for...
In West Texas, abandoned well sinks land, sucks tax dollars
Land around a West Texas roadway used to be flat. Now, it’s fissured, sinking and has cost taxpayers more than a million dollars — all because of a water well that was left unplugged. The rusty pipe poking up from desert scrubland just south of Imperial would be easy...
Commentary: No One Gets Everything They Want in A Good City Bond
Leave it to former Mayor Phil Hardberger to summon a passage from the Book of Proverbs in support of the $850 million 2017 Municipal Bond and, in particular, the $13 million in public funding for the proposed $23 million Hardberger Land Bridge. We will see if voters...
Landowners, Aquifer Alliance win battle over TCEQ permit
Landowners in Comal County took a victory Tuesday in a long-running case against a state agency’s permit allowing a subdivision next door to release treated wastewater onto area land. The plaintiffs, including landowners and the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance, have...
Protecting the drops we drink: Who owns Texas water?
This post from The Eagle, a Bryan-College Station paper, covers some of the fundamentals of water management and ownership in the state of Texas. As you can see, it gets complicated, fast. Even more complicated when you consider that all three types of water...
Charles Butt Invests $100 Million in New Education Leadership Institute
A group of education leaders that includes Ruth Simmons, the first African- American president of an Ivy League university, gathered in Austin Tuesday morning to announce the establishment of the Holdsworth Center for Excellence in Education Leadership. The public...
Record Breaking Attendance at Texas State Parks’ Annual First Day Hikes
This past New Year’s Day, nearly 4,000 park visitors statewide walked, biked, swam and paddled their way into 2017 as part of Texas State Parks’ annual First Day Hikes events. First Day Hikes events are a national initiative to get park visitors to start their year on...
Western Travis County PUA fined for treated wastewater spill
As a consequence for discharging millions of gallons of treated effluent water toward the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality charged the Western Travis County Public Utility Agency $8,001. The TCEQ investigation into the...
Exciting new leadership within HCA board to start 2017
The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) announced the appointment of a new member to its board of directors, Dr. Francine S. Romero. HCA also announced the appointment of Judge Garry Merritt of Real County as board president, taking over for Dr. Leo Tynan of Fredericksburg...
Hill Country workshop provides landowners with information on conservation easements
The Hill Country Alliance (HCA) is hosting a landowner workshop from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, February 10, 2017, at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area, Bass Conference Facility, 138 Kerr WMA Rd W, Hunt, TX 78024. This workshop will focus on conservation easements—a...
The stars at night… Commissioners approve night skies resolution
Jennifer Reiley | The Kerrville Daily Times | Kerr County commissioners are in support of protecting the night skies of the Hill Country from light pollution. Local Realtor Jim Wills and his wife, Kadi, came back to commissioners court Monday with a revised resolution...
Steve Nelle: What is Land Stewardship?
The subject of land stewardship has gained a great deal of positive attention in the last decade, but although the term is commonly used, it has seldom been clearly defined. When a phrase comes into such popular use, there is a danger of it becoming merely an overused...
Elected officials share their thoughts on upcoming Legislature
Jennifer Reiley | Kerrville Daily Times | A new Texas legislative session launches Tuesday, and Kerr County will have new and returning representation in the 85th Legislature. Dawn Buckingham, an opthamologist from Lakeway, is the newly elected senator representing...
Stuck Behind The Wheel: Amtrak Studying San Antonio-Austin Commuter Service
When the Lone Star Rail project fell apart last year, communities along I-35 were left looking for a new plan that would reduce travel time between San Antonio and Austin. Now, they think they’ve found one. It’s still about rail, but the vision is bigger than San...
For Millennials, Hays County Is One of the Priciest Places to Rent
You've probably heard many reports on how expensive it is to live in Austin, but a new report finds that Hays County is one of the country's least affordable rental markets for millennials. Hays County follows the trend playing out in most major U.S. markets – it’s...