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
Aquifer Storage: City of Buda green-lights pilot study
Buda city leaders took another step toward implementing Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) with the approval of a pilot study meant to test the safety of the proposed project. On Dec. 5, the Buda City Council approved, by a 6-0 vote, a professional services agreement...
BEC Lights the Way in Dark-Sky Movement
Tony Tucci, BEC | In the dark field, you can barely see the telescopes and the groups of men and women gathered around them. They are amateur astronomers seeking the secrets of the sky. Light is their enemy, and they carefully guard against it. Most of them are...
Director’s Notes – December 2017
Hill Country Family, As we approach the end of 2017, it seems like a fitting time to reflect on what we’ve accomplished, the journey we’ve taken to get where we are today, and the plans for an exciting, bright future for the Hill Country Alliance (HCA). HCA is very...
The Taking: How the federal government abused its power to seize property for a border fence
The land agents started working the border between Texas and Mexico in the spring of 2007. Sometimes they were representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Other times they were officers from the U.S. Border Patrol, uniformed in green, guns tucked into side...
How to build a city that doesn’t flood? Turn it into a sponge
Urban floods make the news with alarming regularity. Just in the past few months, Hurricane Harvey submerged Houston, and the seasonal monsoon crippled cities in South Asia. Dramatic floods from increasingly severe storms come with a steep cost, both human and...
State climatologist: Dry conditions could worsen for much of Texas
Adam Russell | AgriLife Today | October and November were two of the driest Octobers and Novembers on record, and much of the state appears to be facing a continued dry spell through winter, according to the state climatologist. Dr. John Nielsen-Gammon, College...
Big spring vs big oil
Charles Phillips was in his pasture one day last year when he heard the sound. At 85, Phillips doesn’t hear as well as he used to, but he had no problem picking up the unmistakable squeal of a drill boring through rock. That’s odd, he thought. Why would my...
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