Gay Ruby Dahlstrom Nature Preserve opens

May 8, 2019
Land Conservation and Stewardship

Gay Ruby Dahlstrom Nature Preserve, Buda, TX – Hays County and the family of the late Gay Ruby Dahlstrom today officially opened the nature preserve named in her honor. “This 384-acre preserve is the culmination of Gay Ruby Dahlstrom’s vision to share her love of the environment and natural beauty with everyone,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Mark Jones said. “Thanks to the Dahlstrom family and our other partners, this space is now open for those seeking the peace and quiet of…

Kinder Morgan asks judge to throw out Permian Highway Pipeline lawsuit

May 8, 2019
Legislature and Regulation

Houston pipeline operator Kinder Morgan is asking a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed against a project to move natural gas from the Permian Basin of West Texas to the Gulf Coast. Citing various technicalities, lawyers representing the pipeline company filed a motion on Tuesday asking a state district judge in Travis County to throw out the lawsuit against Kinder Morgan, a subsidiary overseeing the pipeline project and state regulators. Opponents of the Permian Highway Pipeline filed an April…

Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative accepting applications for Regional Conservation Partnership Program

May 8, 2019
Land Conservation and Stewardship

AUSTIN, Texas – Hill Country Conservancy (HCC), the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network and 18 partner organizations today announced Applications of Eligibility are now being accepted from farmers, ranchers and wildlife managers to take part in the $5.15 million pledge awarded by the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) in July 2018. The funds are being offered as Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) funds as land stewardship financial assistance for qualified landowners actively managing, maintaining and expanding conservation activities on private…

KXAN investigation sparks bill to make sure companies pay for environmental violations

May 8, 2019
Legislature and Regulation

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A Texas State Representative recently laid out a House Bill that aims to protect clean air and clean water by making sure companies pay for environmental violations. The bill cited a KXAN investigation that found TCEQ had offered discounts on many penalties, even for repeat violators. State Rep. Erin Zweiner, D-Driftwood, laid out House Bill 3035, a bill that would make certain that the penalties imposed by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality are at least equal…

A new pipeline through the Hill Country is pitting the oil industry against landowners

May 8, 2019
Legislature and Regulation

The state’s biggest industry finds itself in an unusual position: facing landowner-friendly reforms at the Texas Legislature. On the day of the explosion, Randy Zgabay’s grandmother kept him inside. His grandfather would usually hold Randy, who was only eighteen months old, while his seven-year-old-sister, Laura, played in the pasture near his grandparents’ home in Rosenberg, a small town southwest of Houston. But on this August day in 1966, his grandmother just had a feeling: Randy should stay inside the house…

Preserve our local land

May 6, 2019
Land Conservation and Stewardship

In 1846 when Comal County was founded with an area of 575 square miles, it had a population of 1,700. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated the 2018 population to be 148,373, a 37% increase over the last eight years. Or, as the Herald-Zeitung’s April 20 editorial “Growth requires looking forward not backward” points out, by over 7,000 people in the last year. The paper’s editorial states, “There are people in the community who must climb past the notion that…

Wren: Dark skies vital to gaining perspective

May 6, 2019
Land Conservation and Stewardship

Friday evening’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math Expo keynote speaker was William Wren, a distinguished and award-winning advocate for dark sky preservation. Wren has worked at the McDonald Observatory for 29 years and currently is the special assistant to the superintendent. The McDonald Observatory is part of the University of Texas system, located on Mount Locke and Mount Fowlkes in the Davis Mountains, 313 miles West of Uvalde. The 500-acre site sits beneath some of the darkest skies in…

Texas Senate approves using herbicides to fight illegal border crossings

May 6, 2019
Legislature and Regulation

It’s not a wall and it isn’t more boots on the ground, but the Texas Senate has approved a bill that would send millions of dollars of herbicides to the front lines to battle illegal immigration. The Texas Senate passed legislation to send up to $10 million in additional funding to the Texas border to fight carrizo cane, a weed that can grow 25 feet tall and provides cover for border-crossers along the Rio Grande Valley. “It’s all about border…

Bulverde developments threaten local water supply by discharging treated sewage into the Edwards Aquifer

May 6, 2019
Groundwater Resources

The past decade has seen numerous developments sprouting up in the area around Bulverde, Texas. Driven by close proximity to the one of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., the sprawling development in the Bulverde area is going largely unchecked, causing all sorts of problems for local residents. Winding through the Bulverde area is Cibolo Creek, a tributary of the San Antonio River. Cibolo Creek is unique in that it contains numerous faults and fractures that recharge the Edwards Aquifer.…

How San Antonio uses its water to influence Kendall County development

May 5, 2019
Groundwater Resources

Two years have passed since Kendall County Water Control and Improvement District (WCID) No. 3 was introduced in Senate Bill (SB) 914, by Sen. Donna Campbell. As written, 1,055 acres were to be developed and more than 2,000 homes built, but it had no source for a water supply. Boerne City Council considered consenting to creation of the district in early 2019 – now WCID No. 3 and 3A – but members voted unanimously to table the matter indefinitely. However,…