As a professional fly fishing guide, I’ve spent the last decade getting to know the rivers of Texas on an intimate level. It has become my life passion to explore these waterways but also share their wonders with others through angling and paddling. Seeing the look on someone’s face as they catch their first Guadalupe bass on a beautiful stretch of river is just as exciting for me as it is for them. Nothing tops wild fish in wild places,…
On a four-wheeler at the edge of the Hill Country, geologist Mark Hamilton rolls and bumps across a 151-acre property at the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy Field Research Park. He pulls up to the end of a steep hill and points out a sunken, marshy spot along the bottom. With several recently planted trees and bushes of native plants nearby, the spot is among many that Hamilton and his team have resculpted by hand. Read more from Elena Bruess with…
The days for much of the water-thirsty grass in the drought-stricken Las Vegas Valley are numbered. Nearly one-third of all of the grass in Southern Nevada will need to be removed by the end of 2026 under a new bill signed into law by Gov. Steve Sisolak Friday, a significant conservation effort that comes as the state is facing its first federal water shortage amid declining Lake Mead levels and a two-decades-long drought that has shown no signs of ending.…
A 10-0 vote by Austin City Council on June 3 ensured the permanent preservation nearly 4,100 acres of land home to one of the area's unique wildlife habitats and key sources of drinking water. Council via consent June 3 approved the purchase of a conservation easement on the Barton Creek Habitat Preserve, located near Hwy. 71 southeast of Bee Cave, from longtime owners and stewards The Nature Conservancy for up to $2.8 million. The Barton Creek preserve now represents one…
San Pedro Ranch, located near Carrizo Springs, will be awarded the state’s highest honor for private land conservation, and a $10,000 award, at the Lone Star Steward Virtual Awards Banquet on May 27. Anyone can join the livestreamed banquet and can find more information on how to tune in, along with information on other award winners, on the Lone Star Land Steward page of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) website. The ranch is owned by siblings Joseph Fitzsimons…
Texas is home to a variety of unique, productive, and biologically thriving landscapes from the Piney Woods in the east to the arid mountain vistas in the west. Each year, these lands are the root of hundreds of thousands of jobs that help generate billions of dollars in revenue to the state economy. Our land resources also provide a wealth and variety of ecological services, including wildlife habitat, flood mitigation, carbon sequestration, and clean water. The same landscapes that so…
The Hays County Parks and Open Space Advisory Commission (POSAC), which was created in 2020 and recently restarted, is seeking additional project submissions that would be funded by Proposition A, a Parks & Open Space Bond, approved by voters in the November General Election. Prior to the passing of the bond, POSAC members announced a call for projects which resulted in an initial set of 15 recommended projects to the Hays County Commissioners Court. “The role of POSAC was to establish…
In this issue’s Q&A, Texas+Water Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Todd Votteler, interviews Suzanne Scott, State Director of The Nature Conservancy in Texas. As State Director for The Nature Conservancy in Texas, Scott establishes conservation strategy and public policy leadership to protect the state’s cherished landscapes and support ecology, economy, public health, and equity. Working closely with a talented and diverse staff, she oversees the execution of landscape-scale conservation efforts, freshwater protection initiatives, and critical marine protection measures in the Gulf of Mexico,…
Sagebrush bulldozed for a housing development. A pipeline carved through grasslands. Forest felled for a road. Every 30 seconds in the United States, a football field-sized swath of nature is lost to development, according to research from the Center for American Progress. This troubling trend runs counter to calls from scientists to protect more natural areas to mitigate against the effects of climate change and better protect plants and animals from extinction. Read more from Tara Lohan with The Revelator…
On Tuesday, May 11, 2021, from 6:00 – 7:00pm, the Comal County Conservation Alliance (CCCA) will host an evening program on “Saving our Rural Land Heritage.” Guest speakers are David K. Langford of the Hillingdon Ranch in Kendall County, and Rob and Teresa Ohlrich Johnson of the JO Ranch in Comal County. They will tell their stories about their families’ use of conservation easements as a tool to preserve their families’ land and ranching heritage along with the natural and…