News
The Future of Conservation in Kendall County
Part One - By Brent Evans “In the end our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy.” - John Sawhill, The Nature Conservancy The beauty of the Hill Country, “the Sweet Spot of Texas”, is its blessing and its curse. Being one...
Kendall County’s History of Conservation, Part 4
Part Four - By Brent Evans “If future generations are to remember us more with gratitude than sorrow, we must achieve more than just the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was created, not just as it looked when we got through with...
Take Action for Hill Country Spring Flow
HCA and the Our Desired Future project have made it easy for you to voice your “desired future” for groundwater management and the springs and streams that are sustained by healthy aquifers. Read the stories, watch the videos, use the maps to find your groundwater...
Kendall County’s History of Conservation, Part 3
Part Three - By Brent Evans Boerne has successfully marketed itself as a beautiful place to visit or live. The Handbook of Texas describes the area: “Throughout its course, Cibolo Creek has been judged to be a ‘scenic’ and ‘picturesque’ stream. This is particularly...
Kendall County’s History of Conservation, Part 2
Part Two - By Brent Evans Kendall County’s tradition of protecting natural resources has a long history of gradual recognition of needs and spirited citizen action. This the second in a four part series will trace the history of local conservation efforts up to the...
RPA President Emeritus Robert Yaro Appointed Potter Rose Visiting Professor of Planning at The University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture
"I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to work with UT's exceptional faculty and students on strategies to preserve the Texas Hill Country," said Yaro. "This is one of the most beautiful natural areas in the country. The future livability of Austin, San Antonio and the...
84th Texas State Legislature: summaries of water-related legislative action
The Texas Water Journal recently released a review of the 84th legislative session written by leaders from the Texas Water Conservation Association, Sierra Club, Lone Star Chapter, Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts and the Texas Water Infrastructure Network....
Who is Really Paying for SAWS Rate Structure?
What most people don’t realize is that those increased impact fees that developers have to pay in the future will never include the cost of water from the Vista Ridge deal, because of how that deal was structured. It is extraordinarily expensive water that SAWS...
2015 Bennett Trust Land Stewardship Women’s Conference, Oct. 5-6 in Fredericksburg
A conference devoted to helping women manage natural resources in the Edwards Plateau will take place in Fredericksburg Oct. 5-6, 2015 at the Inn on Barons Creek. The 2015 Women’s Natural Resource Management Conference is funded by the Ruth and Eskel Bennett...
Millennials Favor Walkable Communities, Says New NAR Poll
Millennials prefer walking over driving by a substantially wider margin than any other generation, according to a new poll conducted by the National Association of Realtors® and the Transportation Research and Education Center at Portland State University. The 2015...
Bob Ayres honored by Travis Audubon
“Bob Ayres and his family are devoted stewards of the land. In 1998, they placed nearly all of the 6,800-acre Shield Ranch, located in the heart of the Barton Creek watershed, under conservation easement with The Nature Conservancy and the City of Austin.” Travis...
A World Without Rivers
We hardly take notice of the drying of our rivers until they are entirely gone. How many of the residents of Austin, Texas know that the Colorado that flows through the heart of their city is in summer now only a tenth of what it once was? Tragically, the list of...
The American Lawn is now the largest single ‘crop’ in the U.S.
The Llano Watershed Alliance week in review is always a must read: The #1 Irrigated Crop in America, Godzilla El Nino Heading our Way, Celebrate 25 years of the Eckert James River Bat Cave. Subscribe to this weekly newsletter to stay updated on news for everyone who...
Green Home Tour Sept. 19 in Fredericksburg
Fredericksburg SHINES will host their 3rd Annual Green Home Tour on Saturday, September 19. The 2015 tour of homes will spotlight local examples of sustainable-living practices at 10 homes. Sustainable practices to be showcased on the tour will include solar...
First six miles of the Violet Crown Trail opens in Austin
The Hill Country Conservancy (HCC) recently held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the first six mile segment of the Violet Crown Trail. HCC Executive Director George Coffer, Sunset Valley Mayor Rose Cardona, and Council Member Ellen Troxclair spoke at the event, which...
Teacher Celebration at the Wildflower Center, Sept. 3
The Children in Nature Collaborative of Austin is holding a Teacher Celebration September 3rd at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Stroll through the gardens at the Wildflower Center and visit with CiNCA member organizations and learn about the variety...
The best time to plan for drought is when we aren’t in one
Drought is nothing new to Texans; it is frequent and inevitable. Across much of Texas the end of the current drought is being declared—soil moisture levels are nearing normal and ephemeral rivers are flowing again—while other portions of the state are already on the...
The Safety Valve
"Water transfers may play a role in Texas' water future, but as we explore in The Safety Valve, there is plenty of reason to believe they won't solve the problem of fresh groundwater depletion on their own. Only regulation can do that, and as we see in visits to West...
It takes a Texan
"On a Saturday morning, we stood with Gary Perez at the edge of what in more recent years has come to be called Aquarena Springs. There was a sense that time had been suspended, or that somehow, all times were happening at once. Preparations were being made for a...
Three SWIFT projects funded in the Texas Hill Country
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) recently approved approximately $3.9 billion in financial assistance from the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas (SWIFT). The inaugural round of SWIFT financing will be distributed to 21 applicants for approximately $1...
Town Hall Meeting on New Groundwater Protection in Hays County
How will new state law affect your well and your drinking water? Get answers and ask questions at a town hall meeting Monday, Aug. 17, at the Wimberley Community Center, 6-8 p.m. In May, after public protests against a large wholesale groundwater exportation project,...
Threat to Tiny Golden-Cheeked Warbler Is Disputed in Texas
"These days, the diminutive songbird, which weighs less than an ounce, is at the center of a classic environment-versus-development confrontation over emerging efforts to end its 25-year status as an endangered species. Those who are calling for the delisting maintain...
Learn more about groundwater policy and management at the Texas Groundwater Summit
The Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts (TAGD) will host their 4th Annual Groundwater Summit August 25-27, 2015 at the Embassy Suites San Marcos -- Register Today! The event provides a great mix of expert presentations on all areas of groundwater management and...
Texas Facing Major Climate Change Impacts, Study Finds
Texas probably will see a sharp increase in heat-related deaths and coastal storm-related losses in the coming decades if nothing is done to mitigate a changing climate, according to a new study commissioned by a bipartisan group of prominent policymakers and company...
Reforming the Endangered Species Act: Industry Groups Seek to Dismantle Our Country’s Most Purposeful Conservation Tool
Recognizing that, as a “consequence of economic growth and development,” many “species of fish wildlife and plants” in the United States are on the brink of extinction, Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973 with overwhelming bipartisan support. Today, the...
Pedernales Newsletter Shares News and Events from the Basin
The third installment of the Hill Country Alliance's new Pedernales Newsletter went out on July 14th and included some exciting updates about projects in the Pedernales basin. The Pedernales Newsletter is sent via email once a month to landowners, residents and...
Story series on Texas Groundwater Depletion Launches
State’s surface waters originate from groundwater, yet fractured resource management means both may become less reliable: The Texas Center for Policy Studies recently launched Our Desired Future, a multimedia project to educate Texans on the interconnections between...
The Connecting Thread
The behavior of water on and beneath private land is the key to preserving water for Texans in the 21st century and into the 22nd, a grand challenge that is uniquely Texan. Other western states have urban populations far removed from their water sources, but that’s...
Keeping Houses Out of Texas Floodwaters Could Cost Billions
Back on May 26th, Houston woke up to flooded freeways and neighborhoods as bayous overflowed their banks. In the Texas Hill Country, homes and bridges washed away and levees broke. But super-heavy rainfall is nothing new in Texas and in fact, it was years earlier that...
2015 Eco-Summit Series “Teaming With Wildlife” begins July 24 in San Antonio
This summer, in an effort to keep common wildlife common and avoid endangered species, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is partnering with the nonprofit Teaming With Wildlife Coalition to offer four, full-day Eco-Summit forums throughout Texas. Anyone...