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
In Texas, a new study will determine where extreme weather hazards and environmental justice collide
The way Geeta Persad sees it, the nation’s great coastal cities are facing an environmental reckoning with threats from both the air and the sea. In the air, there is the belching, toxic exhaust from factories, petrochemical facilities, sewage treatment plants and...
Groundwater sampling helps better understand Edwards-Trinity Aquifers
The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and scientists from the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) are studying water deep underground to further understand how drought and pumping affect the quality and quantity of groundwater that flows...
Texas heat index could soon surpass 120 degrees, study finds
A recent report published by the First Street Foundation found soon the heat index could surpass 125 degrees in much of Texas. The study was first reported by our media partners with the Texas Tribune. The increase in the heat index is a result of climate change....
Abandoned “dry hole” oil wells are polluting Texas farms, ranches and groundwater. The state won’t fix them.
Schuyler Wight is a fourth-generation rancher who has raised longhorn cattle outside Midland for decades. Wight is no geologist, but over the years, he’s had to familiarize himself with what lies underground. Scattered across his sprawling 20,000-acre ranch are more...
Sadly, “A Day Without Water” is becoming all to common for Texans
For many Texans, “a day without water” is not an imagined experience—it’s just another day. Some communities have never had running water. For the rest of us, experiencing days without water has become the rule rather than the exception. The one-two punch of...
Rapidly growing Dripping Springs ends development moratorium
After nearly a year, the rapidly growing city of Dripping Springs is no longer under a development moratorium. That means commercial and residential development can, and has, resumed — but that doesn’t mean the small Hays County city’s growing pains are solved. Read...