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
Going with the flow: Guadalupe River down but not out as dry weather affects the ecosystem
The Guadalupe River is feeling the impact of scorching hot, dry weather in south central Texas, but river officials are not overly concerned about it yet. Stretching from Kerr County — northwest of San Antonio — to the Gulf of Mexico, the Guadalupe River is a popular...
‘Viva Texas Rivers!’ Celebrates Texas’ storied waterways
To know the geography of Texas, you must know its rivers. The book Viva Texas Rivers! Adventures, Misadventures, and Glimpses of Nirvana along Our Storied Waterways may be the most comprehensive effort to date to capture the charms, mythologies, and challenges of the...
Rethinking mountain cedar: habitat enhancing land management
“Standing inside one of those [cedar] brakes gave the feeling of being inside one of Nature’s cathedrals.” —Williedell Schawe, Wimberley’s Legacy, 1963 One question landowners ask when the HELM team pays them a visit is “What should I do about all this cedar?” We...
Potential for large wildfires in Fredericksburg and throughout Hill Country, Forest Service warns
Texas A&M Forest Service is warning Texans about the potential for wildfires Thursday and Friday. Texas A&M Forest Service fire resources have responded to four wildfires in portions of the Panhandle and West Texas so far this week. Those fires have burned...
Gunter Clean Air raising concerns after recent pollution report on nearby concrete batch plants
According to Texans for Responsible Aggregate Mining, also known as TRAM, Gunter has 11 permitted concrete batch plants. They said at least one more is seeking a permit nearby, causing some residents concern about their health. “It’s not that we’re ever trying to shut...
Private lands are the next battleground in state conservation policy.
Since last year, staff members at the Land Trust of Virginia have fielded phone call after phone call from landowners seeking to set aside their property for conservation. “We’re getting calls like crazy,” said Sally Price, executive director of the nonprofit, which...
Seven ways climate change is already affecting Texas
Climate change has been warned by scientists for years, and through heat waves with unreasonably high temperatures, the state of Texas is already suffering the consequences of this phenomenon in various ways. Read more from the Reform Austin Staff at Reform Austin...
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