News
2012 Conservation Easement News
November 7, 2012 Austin commits another $30 million for Land Conservation! Hill Country voters keep on proving they value open space and land conservation. Yesterday, Austin passed another bond election that includes $30 million to buy land or easements in...
2012 Water Catchment News
December 9, 2012 Everyone lives in a Watershed - Find out what’s happening along the Llano At HCA, we prefer the term “Water Catchment Area”. Many great water catchment area planning projects are in the works around the Hill Country. The Upper Llano partnership...
2012 Water Quality News
December 3, 2012 Students map spills over recharge zone A new interactive map created by students at Texas State University shows where sewer line breaks and overflows have dumped sewage over the recharge zone of the Edwards Aquifer in Bexar County since 2004. More...
2012 Water Planning News
December 17, 2012 Behind the scary water headlines It’s hard to look at any media in Texas today without being confronted by a dire outlook on the state’s water future. The jarring effects of a deep drought and the steep price tag attached to the state’s water plan...
2012 Water Conservation News
December 9, 2012 Water Conservation Matters – even with no drought What Mike says to San Angelo can apply throughout the Hill Country, “If San Angelo and the region are to continue to survive and prosper economically and if Texas is to be sustainable with its limited...
2012 Rainwater Harvesting News
December 9, 2012 Water Conservation Matters – even with no drought What Mike says to San Angelo can apply throughout the Hill Country, “If San Angelo and the region are to continue to survive and prosper economically and if Texas is to be sustainable with its limited...
2012 Groundwater News
December 12, 2012 In Central Texas, a rush to secure water rights Amid a persistent drought that has rattled Texans about water supplies, cities and investors are jockeying to purchase millions of gallons of underground water and pipe it to rapidly growing...
2012 Drought News
November 21, 2012 LCRA hands down compromise emergency drought order “The water release planning for 2013 has been the subject of a collision of interests as drought drags on in the region,” Read the Statesman report here. This decision is described as...
2012 Children in Nature News
November 29, 2012 Help 4th and 5th graders learn about our water Please inform your neighborhood school and contact your children’s teachers directly. TWDB is now taking orders for their award winning Major Rivers Educational Program. Here’s a great opportunity to...
2012 Transportation Planning News
November 29, 2012 Hays Citizens can and should provide input on County Transportation Plan, comments are due December 8th Citizens Alliance for Responsible Development (CARD) has taken time to carefully review the draft Hays County Transportation Plan. Help...
2012 Transmission Line News
December 3, 2012 “End of Wind?” Statesman headline 12.2.2012 reads “End of Wind? Some say industry will fade if federal tax credit vanishes in fiscal cliff deal”….. “The state has made a large investment in building transmission lines, which will become operational...
2012 Night Sky News
December 13, 2012 Town to receive Night Skies lights As our nation becomes more urbanized and as land ownership in rural areas becomes more fragmented, the problem of light pollution and the “disappearing stars" is receiving increasing attention. The Hill Country...
2012 Billboard News
August 13, 2012 Welcome Scenic Comal County Scenic Texas welcomes their newest chapter, Scenic Comal County. Committed to preserving the county's landscape, a group of concerned residents led by Chris Cornwell, Dave Bohn, Robbi Boone, and Comal County Commissioner Jan...
November 2012 News Archive
November 30, 2012 Water, Water, Everywhere? Texas is in a pickle when it comes to water issues and here in the Hill Country water scarcity hits home. “A do-nothing plan is not one to consider,” House Speaker Joe Straus told an audience at the recent Future of Water...
“This Riparian stuff is not Rocket Science…”
“The water challenges of Texas will never be resolved until more people understand how creeks and rivers work, including the vital role of voluntary land stewardship, which helps sustain flows and maintain water quality. Landowners, policy makers, agencies,...
The greatest grassland myth of the Texas Hill Country
Myths and misperceptions are common in the realm of nature and natural resource management. Some myths are harmless folklore and not really worth much debate. Other myths are more significant since they can affect natural resource decisions and influence public...
October 2012 News Archive
October 25, 2012 Texas Parks, Towns Embrace Dark Sky Movement In recent years, Texas’ state parks have struggled with falling visitor numbers and budget cuts. These days, in their quest to lure people back, the parks are promoting opportunities for night-sky viewing,...
September 2012 News Archive
September 27, 2012 Become a citizen scientist during Wildlife Field Research at Cibolo Nature Center Oct. 8-13 Volunteers interested in learning about Hill Country wildlife and contributing to its scientific study are encouraged to become citizen scientists during the...
2012 Water Catchment News
December 9, 2012 Everyone lives in a Watershed - Find out what’s happening along the Llano At HCA, we prefer the term “Water Catchment Area”. Many great water catchment area planning projects are in the works around the Hill Country. The Upper Llano partnership...
2012 Water Quality News
December 4, 2012 Wimberley considers wastewater discharge The Wimberley City Council is hosting a meeting Wednesday, December 5th at 6 pm to consider public input about wastewater discharge into Deer Creek. Wimberley creeks flow to the Blanco, which recharges the...
2012 Water Planning News
December 17, 2012 Behind the scary water headlines It’s hard to look at any media in Texas today without being confronted by a dire outlook on the state’s water future. The jarring effects of a deep drought and the steep price tag attached to the state’s water plan...
2012 Water Conservation News
December 9, 2012 Water Conservation Matters – even with no drought What Mike says to San Angelo can apply throughout the Hill Country, “If San Angelo and the region are to continue to survive and prosper economically and if Texas is to be sustainable with its limited...
2012 Rainwater News
December 9, 2012 Water Conservation Matters – even with no drought What Mike says to San Angelo can apply throughout the Hill Country, “If San Angelo and the region are to continue to survive and prosper economically and if Texas is to be sustainable with its limited...
2012 Groundwater News
December 12, 2012 In Central Texas, a rush to secure water rights Amid a persistent drought that has rattled Texans about water supplies, cities and investors are jockeying to purchase millions of gallons of underground water and pipe it to rapidly growing...
A fiscal conservative’s manifesto against sprawl
"But, while my concern with sprawling growth patterns was rooted in their effect on the landscape, on the environment, and on severely compromised populations left behind, Chuck is all about the money. As Thoughts on Building Strong Towns makes quite clear, Chuck...
August 2012 News Archive
August 28, 2012 Hill Country River and Stream Angler Survey Underway Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division is partnering with Texas Tech University’s Department of Biological Sciences and the TTU Llano River Field Station to conduct a...
July 2012 News Archive
July 30, 2012 Save It for a Sunny Day Hard-packed, fractured stretches of bone-dry earth and pale, cloudless skies with months of unrelenting heat isn’t exactly an appropriate backdrop for a conversation about rainwater harvesting. Or is it? Sanjeev Kalaswad,...
June 2012 News Archives
June 25, 2012 EAA Declares Stage 4 for Uvalde Pool The Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA ), for the first time in its history, has declared Stage IV mandatory pumping reductions for Edwards Aquifer users within the Uvalde Pool (Uvalde County). Read more from AACOG. Life...
May 2012 News Archive
May 31, 2012 Southern Great Plains could run out of groundwater in 30 years, study finds Key farming regions in the US are drawing water from underground sources at unsustainable rates, with slightly more than one-third of the southern Great Plains at risk of tapping...
2012 Drought News
November 21, 2012 LCRA hands down compromise emergency drought order “The water release planning for 2013 has been the subject of a collision of interests as drought drags on in the region,” Read the Statesman report here. This decision is described as...