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Land Conservation and Stewardship

Conservationists Are Plucking The Plants That Threaten Texas Wild Rice, Fountain Darters

Conservationists are plucking the plants that threaten Texas wild rice, fountain darters

Twelve feet below the water in the San Marcos River, conservationists pluck invasive plants from the riverbed. Hydrilla and hygrophila are the victims of this widespread removal. They’re targeted because they threaten two native species that are endangered: Texas wild rice and fountain darters. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment is on a mission to remove all non-native species and restore the river to what it once was before humans interfered with it.   Read more from Charlotte…

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New Study On Climate Change Impacts On Plants Could Lead To Better Conservation Strategies

New study on climate change impacts on plants could lead to better conservation strategies

The loss of plant species that are especially vulnerable to climate change might lead to bigger problems than previous studies have suggested, according to a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. If confirmed, the findings can help inform conservation strategies and lead to more accurate predictions about what ecosystems will look like in the future. Read more from Marc Airhart with UT News here.  

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Recovering America’s Wildlife Act Introduced In The U.S. Senate

Recovering America’s Wildlife Act introduced in the U.S. Senate

We're excited to announce that the Recovering America's Wildlife Act has been introduced in the U.S. Senate! S.2372 was introduced by Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) — one important step closer to passing the most significant wildlife funding bill in a generation. The Recovering America's Wildlife Act will provide critical investments in conservation and habitat restoration efforts that will help declining wildlife across the country. It will also create thousands of good-paying jobs and boost the economy.…

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A Watershed Moment: Restoration Of The Sessom Creek Watershed About To Get Underway

A Watershed Moment: Restoration of the Sessom Creek Watershed about to get underway

Everyone loves those home makeover shows where a visionary decorator and demolition-loving partner take a quaint old home and turn it into a Better Homes and Gardens cover story. Well, if there was such a show for watersheds, the Sessom Creek watershed in San Marcos would definitely be featured. The only downside to this story is that the “big reveal” won’t take place for about two years or more. “The complete overhaul, so to speak, of the Sessom Creek watershed…

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From Time To Time: Preserving Cultural Resources Key Component Of EAHCP

From Time to Time: Preserving cultural resources key component of EAHCP

Where did the time go? Time flies. There’s no time like the present. Don’t waste your time. People are familiar with the notion that time marches on at its own pace and we express how we deal with that in many ways. And while today’s culture seems to be preoccupied with what’s coming next due to the meteoric evolution of technology, there are very good reasons to maintain a solid connection to humanity’s past. In South Central Texas, that past…

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Bipartisan Wildlife Proposal Would Enhance Fish And Wildlife, Add Jobs, And Grow Businesses In Texas

Bipartisan wildlife proposal would enhance fish and wildlife, add jobs, and grow businesses in Texas

During the pandemic, Texans headed back to nature in record numbers, with more people visiting state parks, hunting, fishing, and boating than ever before. A new congressional proposal aims to tap that exploding interest by investing more than $50 million per year in Texas for wildlife recovery and related public education and recreation, a move expected to boost the state’s already booming nature-based economy into overdrive. The bipartisan Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, H.R.2773, would provide $1.4 billion to state and…

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Economic Benefits Report From Great Springs Project

Economic Benefits Report from Great Springs Project

With the expert guidance of Alta Planning + Design and National Park Service, Great Springs Project is proud to present the Economic Benefits Report for the trail from the Alamo to the Capitol to quantify the financial return from the 100+-mile trail network and 50,000 conserved acres of land in the GSP corridor. The report includes economic, health, environmental, and transportation cost savings as well as climate change data including carbon sequestration.   For more details and to read the full report from the…

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Wildlife Disease Threatens Deer, Elk – And Maybe Humans, New Research Says

Wildlife disease threatens deer, elk – and maybe humans, new research says

The continuing spread of a fatal wildlife disease in Alberta and Saskatchewan has a federal agency recommending a deer cull across a wide swath of the Prairies. And soon-to-be-published research on chronic wasting disease has raised new fears about whether the illness could infect humans. “I would say this question was answered with ‘yes,’ ” said Hermann Schaetzl, a veterinary scientist at the University of Calgary.   Read more about chronic wasting disease from Bob Weber with The Canadian Press…

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A Drought So Dire That A Utah Town Pulled The Plug On Growth

A drought so dire that a Utah town pulled the plug on growth

The mountain spring that pioneers used to water their hayfields and that filled people’s taps flowed reliably into the old cowboy town of Oakley for decades. So when it dwindled to a trickle in this year’s scorching drought, officials took drastic action to preserve their water: They stopped building. During the coronavirus pandemic, the real estate market in their 1,750-person city boomed as remote workers flocked in from the West Coast and second homeowners staked weekend ranches. But those newcomers…

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Comal County Group, Hays County Neighbors Aim To Spare Some Nature From Sprawl

Comal County group, Hays County neighbors aim to spare some nature from sprawl

People are flocking to the Texas Hill Country for its lush and rolling hills, so some in Comal and Hays counties are working together to preserve it. The Comal County Conservation Alliance recently held a virtual meeting with Hays County Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell. Shell talked about Hays County’s Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee, which supported a bond to preserve land from excessive development. Both counties’ conservation efforts for the past several years have included 2,382 acres of…

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