Posted by Ryan Ament | Aug 23, 2021 | Community, County Authority, HCA in the News, Hill Country Tourism, Land Conservation and Stewardship, News, Night Skies, Planning and Development, Scenic Beauty, Wildlife
The Travis County Commissioners Court passed a resolution Tuesday that will mandate county buildings to turn off all nonessential lights from 11 p.m.-6 a.m. during key migration periods for migrating songbirds. The Lights Off initiative will be in effect annually from...
Posted by Ryan Ament | Aug 18, 2021 | Community, Land Conservation and Stewardship, Native Landscapes, News, Night Skies, Scenic Beauty
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK — The high, lonesome dunes that run up against the Rocky Mountains at 7,500 feet above sea level in southern Colorado are a long, long drive from the closest streetlight, and after dusk, the almost untainted darkness and thin, dry air...
Posted by admin | Aug 17, 2021 | Community, Events, HCA in the News, News, Night Skies, Scenic Beauty
Deep within each of us is a memory of breathtaking awe and wonder. Within each of us is a recollection of that first time we found ourselves speechless, under a canopy of deep night and starlight. It might have been at a star party, under a planetarium dome, or while...
Posted by Ryan Ament | Aug 4, 2021 | Community, Land Conservation and Stewardship, News, Night Skies, Wildlife
One moonless night a little more than a decade ago, Marie Dacke and Eric Warrant, animal vision experts from Lund University in Sweden, made a surprise discovery in South Africa. The researchers had been watching nocturnal dung beetles, miniature Sisyphuses of the...
Posted by Ryan Ament | Aug 2, 2021 | Community, News, Night Skies, Scenic Beauty
In the Northern Hemisphere, we rank the August Perseids as our all-time favorite meteor shower. The Perseids take place during the lazy, hazy days of northern summer, when many families are on vacation. And what could be more luxurious than taking a siesta from the...
Posted by admin | Jul 12, 2021 | Aggregate Production Operations, Community, Director's Notes, HCA in the News, Land Conservation and Stewardship, News, Night Skies, Water Resources
Dear Hill Country Neighbors, It finally feels like we’re reaching the light at the end of a long tunnel. Summer in the Hill Country, particularly when fueled by abundant spring rains, is a season for slowing down—appreciating the shade of an ancient oak tree, the cold...
