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
Austin restaurateur wants Texans to save the environment — by eating wild hogs
In Austin’s Cherrywood Neighborhood, the Dai Due restaurant has an unusual menu item — a wild boar confit. The rich flavor profile is created with all locally sourced ingredients, cook Henry Tiles explained. Read more from Dominic Anthony Walsh with Texas Public Radio...
‘Careful what we ask for’: Dripping Springs battles major Hill Country growing pains, development issues
Diane and Chuck McClaferty live and work on a Dripping Springs ranch. It’s been in Chuck McClaferty’s family for 85 years. They raise beef cattle. They keep honeybees. And a proposed four-lane highway would run right through the middle of their land. Read more from...
Saving ‘the edge of night’: Starry-sky admirers fight light pollution in the Hill Country amid growth, development
Chris Hill peered through the lens of the telescope in his backyard one cold night, looking into the sea of stars and galaxies that pepper the night sky like grains of sand. He walked to a pair of computers nearby and pressed a few buttons. A picture came into focus:...
Porcupines, or ‘cuddly cactuses,’ popping up more in Central Texas
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, the species appears to be expanding its range eastward. Its range in Texas normally is limited to the western portion of the state, including the Panhandle and parts of the Hill Country. Read more from Chrissy Mazzone with...
How to be an anti-racist geoscience organization
I’ve had this paper in the hopper for a while, waiting for the courage to write about it, in large part due to the controversy over Critical Race Theory but also — and perhaps primarily — because I am an old(ish), white, straight male fearful of saying (or writing)...
How cattle ranchers can combat climate change
Texas relies on the multibillion-dollar cattle industry for economic success and the conservation of our iconic landscape — the two are not mutually exclusive. Ranchers have a devotion to the land that sustains their livelihood, as it did for generations before them....
Texas Innovation Corridor future development project launches
Greater San Marcos Partnership (GSMP) and Watershed Partners, a program of WVWA, jointly launched the Texas Innovation Corridor (TxIC) Future Development project Nov. 15, celebrating funding approval in October from GSMP’s board matched equally by WVWA. The $43,000,...
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