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
Major Texas industrial facilities rank first nationally in illegal water pollution
About half of Texas’ major industrial facilities released illegal levels of pollution into rivers, lakes and other waterways over a 21-month period ending September 2017, according to a new report by Environment Texas and California-based think tank Frontier Group....
Pioneers Taking on “Dark Sky” Project
In Mason, the students of the Pioneers Youth Leadership program have taken on Dark Sky Preservation as a focus for sharpening their leadership skills in their community. Working with their teacher Megan Bierschwale, Hill Country Alliance (HCA) Night Sky Program...
HCA’s 12th annual photo contest has begun
The Texas Hill Country is a unique region of scenic beauty, diverse wildlife, star-filled skies, and historic towns. With a rapidly growing population and increasing development coming to the region, many of these special qualities are at risk of being lost forever....
Boy Scouts selling historic El Rancho Cima
You wouldn’t know it looking at the serene landscape now, but the 2015 Memorial Day weekend flood that devastated Wimberley also dealt a deathblow to the nearby historic Boy Scout camp, El Rancho Cima. Sweeping away entire structures along the banks of the Blanco...
Valley’s first Night Sky Friendly businesses awarded
The Wimberley Valley’s first ever Night Sky Friendly Business Awards have been presented to Byron Eckols - State Farm and to the Leaning Pear Restaurant. The awards are sponsored by the Wimberley Valley Chamber of Commerce, endorsed by the Hill Country Alliance and...
Council firestorm erupts over SAWS appointee
All three of Mayor Ron Nirenberg’s nominees to the San Antonio Water System board of trustees were approved recently by the City Council after a heated exchange over the appointment of water law expert Amy Hardberger. Councilman Greg Brockhouse grilled Hardberger, the...
Do Landowners Have Right to Protest Proposed Water Project?
An interesting legal question has arisen in Bastrop County recently that could have impacts on groundwater law and landowner rights across Texas. Background: In 2013, Recharge Water (formerly End Op) applied for a permit from the Lost Pines Groundwater Conservation...
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