The mission of the Hill Country Alliance is to bring together a diverse coalition of partners to preserve the open spaces, starry night skies, clean and abundant waters, and unique character of the Texas Hill Country.
Our Work
Land
The Texas Hill Country region covers over 11 million acres in 17 counties of mostly privately held land.
Water
Thirteen Texas rivers begin in the Hill Country and provide water for millions of downstream neighbors.
Night Sky
The Hill Country sits on the edge of night and as development pushes westward, we are losing our view of the night sky.
Community
90% of Hill Country lands are in unincorporated areas where there is little authority to plan for growth.
Collaboration
HCA serves as the backbone organization and fiscal sponsor of the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network.
Latest News
New Mexico official says Texas landowners are “stealing” millions of gallons of water and selling it back for fracking
After you head northeast on Ranch Road 652 from tiny Orla, it’s easy to miss the precise moment you leave Texas and cross into New Mexico. The sign just says “Lea County Line,” and with 254 counties in Texas, you’d be forgiven for not knowing there isn’t one named...
Tackling Future Hill Country Water Needs: ‘We Can’t Solve The Problem Alone’
“We are looking at starting the summer months, in the Hill Country, with only five inches of rain,” Katherine Romans, Executive Director of the Hill Country Alliance, explained during the opening of the most recent Texas Water Symposium on Wednesday, May 30. As the...
Austin’s quaintest neighbor aims to become 3rd Texas city to earn dark sky status
Only two Texas cities currently hold the coveted “dark sky status,” as designated by the International Dark-Sky Association. But Horseshoe Bay and Dripping Springs could soon be joined by forever-small town Fredericksburg. If Fredericksburg has anything to say about...
Mason, TX “The gem of the Hill Country”
Mason is a farming and ranching community with a significant artist presence. Having originated as a Germansettlement, Mason is not very ethnically diverse, but our population is very diverse in age approximately 22%under 18, 25% between 25 and 44, 29% between 45 and...
Tucson, Arizona, U.S. Skyglow Reduced 7% after Street Light Conversion
John Barentine, Director of Conservation at the International Dark-Sky Association, is the lead author of a recent study published online by the Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer. Although Barentine has previously published papers in the...
No Resolution in Sight For Ranchers and Farmers Fighting Over San Saba River
Why is a 40-mile stretch of the San Saba river running dry during the summers? That was the central question at a Texas House Natural Resources Committee hearing in Brady on Wednesday. As the Observer first reported last year, a significant stretch of the San Saba, a...
Hays County water fight is back on, 3 years after residents’ big win
Three years ago, Hays County’s grass-roots Save Our Wells group took on a Houston-based company that found a regulatory loophole allowing it to pump millions of gallons of water from the already-strained Trinity Aquifer and sell it. The dispute culminated in...
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