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
The Source: Garney Failure Could Mean SAWS Takeover Of Vista Ridge Project
In a turn-about San Antonio Water System CEO Robert Puente said the water utility would take over the construction of the Vista Ridge Water Pipeline if Garney was unable to meet certain deadlines. In May, after the Spanish conglomerate Abengoa went bankrupt, the...
Video: Monarchs: The Milkweed Mission (9:01)
From their winter home in Mexico and north along their amazing annual migration, Monarch butterflies are threatened by deforestation, climate change and drought and agriculture policies. The Nobelity Project's Turk Pipkin looks at the wonder of the monarchs and what...
California Law Recognizes Meadows and Forests as Water Infrastructure
California’s vast water infrastructure is likely the most extensive in the world. It includes the tallest dam in the nation and enormous state and federal water projects that tap rivers flowing from as far away as Wyoming. On September 27th, Governor Brown signed...
It Takes a Network to Tackle Growth and Complexity
Famous frontiersman and politician Davy Crockett once remarked, “You may all go to Hell and I will go to Texas,” and apparently, he was onto something. While the impetus for his remark was disenchantment with Tennessee politics in the early 1830s, an increasingly...
America’s Next Great Metropolis Is Taking Shape In Texas
If you drive south from Dallas, or west from Houston, a subtle shift takes place. The monotonous, flat prairie that dominates much of Texas gives way to a landscape that rises and ebbs. The region around Highway 35 is called the Hill Country, and although it does not...
West Travis County construction hammers may stop
Officials of the West Travis County Public Utility Agency, which services Bee Cave, Travis County Municipal Utility District No. 5 and parts of Hays County with water and wastewater, said it has exceeded, at least on paper, its service capacity. “We are...