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
‘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...