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
Tomorrow: Growth is focus for local forum
February 18th, the League of Women Voters will be holding a forum to present the findings of the just-released study “Toward a Regional Plan for the Texas Hill Country,” which was done by the University of Texas School of Architecture. The study focuses on ways of...
With a rush for water, experts debate what will happen to aquifers
Four groundwater scientists grappled with some big questions about the aquifer in Central Texas expected to be tapped to supply fast-growing San Antonio and Austin. A water symposium at Texas State University on Thursday addressed the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, a layer...
TPWD, partners plan riparian restoration workshop for Blanco River
The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and several partner organizations, and are planning a riparian recovery workshop for landowners impacted by the Memorial Day flood. Free grass and sedge plants will be given away and agency staff will train landowners in proper...
Union Pacific stops passenger train idea in its tracks
Union Pacific dealt a major blow to a proposal to connect San Antonio and Austin with passenger rail by pulling one of its tracks from a possible plan. UP ended its agreement with the Lone Star Rail District to study the feasibility of running passenger trains on a...
South Llano River State Park installs night sky quality meter
Ken Kattner, of Putnam Observatory and key leader on HCA Night Skies Team, recently donated valuable high-tech scientific equipment to monitor sky quality at South Llano River State Park near Junction. Dedicated to preserving large swaths of Hill Country night skies,...
New Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Council Holds Inaugural Meeting
Armed with $2 million in legislative appropriations to help bring more of the state’s high-value working farm and ranch lands under long term conservation protection, the Texas Farm and Ranch Lands Conservation Council held its inaugural meeting under the...
Will Dripping Springs sewage expansion foul Onion Creek?
From his rolling Hill Country spread, Wes Pitts can watch changes in gray-green Onion Creek as it riffles by. This is the same creek that twice in 2015 flooded poor neighborhoods in Southeast Austin, but here, miles upstream, on a windy, dry late January day, it wends...
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