Our Work
Land
HCA’s Land Program seeks to increase private land stewardship and permanent land conservation across the Hill Country, and works with regional land trusts to educate owners about conservation easements, track conservation metrics, and consider conservation priorities.
Water
HCA’s Water Program assists grassroots groups that champion water stewardship in their communities, advocates for policies that protect groundwater and surface water, and promotes resilient water supplies through the advancement of One Water projects.
Night Sky
HCA’s Night Skies Program helps Hill Country counties and cities minimize the impacts of light pollution through education and outreach, the establishment of outdoor lighting policies, and the recognition and celebration of certified Dark Sky Places in our region.
Communities
HCA’s Communities Program builds connections across county lines, supporting rural leaders in protecting the unique character of their communities while promoting innovative approaches to building healthy, vibrant communities throughout the Texas Hill Country.
The Latest
Texas parks are broke. But there’s good news: voters can rescue them.
Money intended for state parks and historic sites should actually be spent on state parks and historic sites, right? It took lawmakers a little more than a quarter century to reach that conclusion. Since 1993, sales tax collected from the purchase of sporting goods...
Commentary: Why you should care about groundwater pumping in Hays County
Barton Springs, the Austin’s beloved spring-fed swimming pool, is the crown jewel of the city – the soul of this soulful town. Almost a million people cooled off in the springs in 2018, and more than a million swimmers are expected to return in 2019....In recent...
June Director’s Notes: Hill Country Conservation gets a national spotlight
In this month’s notes, we wanted to highlight how HCA and our partners have been working to elevate the profile of conservation in the Hill Country to a national level. Partnering with individual landowners, city and county governments, academic institutions and...
Wiring The Hill Country: new internet providers take on rural areas
David McCullough’s phone rang. It was Home Town Donuts in Johnson City, and their internet service was down. He raced through his house to find his laptop, which would allow him to diagnose the issue, but not before cracking four metatarsal bones in his foot. He...
Dripping Springs neighbors petition to ‘Save Hamilton Pool’ from RV park development
A petition circulating online is calling for an end to a proposal to put an RV park near The Hamilton Pool Preserve. "Our kids have grown up here. Our daughter had birthday parties down at Hamilton pool," said Stagecoach Ranch resident Bob Adkins. People who live...
Scientists have big hopes for Uvalde pool study
Ron Green, a scientist at Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, and his team of hydro-geologists are busy collecting data on and creating a lumped parameter model for the Uvalde Pool, a major reservoir of underground water centered over central Uvalde County...