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
‘Gold rush’ in Hill Country as homebuilding surges; stresses on environment, infrastructure prompt dire warnings
Gone are the days when the Texas Hill Country was just that — rolling hills as the backdrop to a country way of life, a relatively undeveloped and untouched region of the Lone Star State. Gone are the days when dark skies were actually dark, longhorns roamed in...
Rancher sues ConocoPhillips to protect endangered cat’s habitat
A Texas rancher has sued a national oil and gas company that he accuses of harming the habitat of an endangered species of wildcat on his property in DeWitt County. Mike Hamilton, co-owner of his family’s ranch near Cuero, filed a lawsuit in late January against...
We need to embrace traffic congestion, not fight it.
“Almost all of our transportation investments go to support commuters and, by extension, the proliferation of the development pattern that accompanies the commuting lifestyle.” I wrote these words last week for an article on a light rail project here in Minnesota...
New Camp Bullis Sentinel Landscape Seeks to strengthen military readiness, natural resource conservation, and agricultural productivity
San Antonio, Texas – One of the nation’s newest Sentinel Landscape recognitions has been awarded to the area surrounding Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis. The national recognition, the first ever in Texas, will open significant new financial resources to protect...
NRI releases Texas landowner survey to examine status of working lands and needs of land managers.
The Texas A&M Natural Resources Institute’s Texas Land Trends program released the 2022 Landowner Survey for landowners who own or operate private working lands in Texas. This voluntary questionnaire serves to gather information on the needs, preferences,...
72 acres of Blanco river open space protected forever.
We are excited to announce the completion of a 72-acre donated conservation easement of native habitat and open space along the Blanco River in rapidly growing Hays County. The conservation easement on Cathedral Oaks Preserve protects native habitats, water quality,...
Amid troubling UN climate report, Texas ecologist says we have to act fast to adapt to a warming planet.
On Monday, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a new report, sounding the alarm again on the rapid warming of the planet. The publication asserts, in part, that the impacts of global warming are now simply “irreversible.”But there are still...
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