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
Why a Chinese billionaire bought 140,000 acres of land in Texas
On June 7, Texas governor Greg Abbott sat down at a desk in the state capitol and, flanked by a half-dozen lawmakers, put pen to paper for a ceremonial signing of the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act. “As far as I know this is the first law of its kind by any...
Texas Hill Country harvests No. 3 ranking among American wine regions
Sorry, Napa Valley. Apologies, Sonoma Valley. The Hill Country crushes both of those heavily hyped California destinations (like a grape) in a new ranking of the best wine regions. The Hill Country lands at No. 3 in the 2021 USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice awards for...
How this Texas town became one of America’s fastest-growing cities
In the not-too-distant past, motorists driving along a stretch of Interstate 35 just northeast of San Antonio were met with vast fields of wildflowers and grazing cows in grassy pastures. Today, the cattle are gone, replaced with clusters of sleek apartments, gated...
“We can’t have land back without water back”
Growing up in Sandia Pueblo, on the banks of the Río Grande in New Mexico, Julia Bernal heard tales about the world of her ancestors. Elders told her that the area was home to diverse flora and fauna, the likes of which she had never seen. The river used to overflow...
The key to slowing traffic is street design, not speed limits
On September 8, Wiley & Sons will release the second book in the Strong Towns series: Confessions of a Recovering Engineer: A Strong Towns Approach to Transportation. Chapter five is about building great streets and how it is essential, if we want places that are...
USDA invests $167 million in high-speed broadband in 12 states
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $167 million in 12 states to deploy broadband infrastructure (PDF, 360 KB) in rural areas without sufficient access to high-speed internet....