A new report released this month by the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network (the Network) shines a spotlight on the need for investing in conservation as Central Texas grows. The Hill Country Land, Water, Sky and Natural Infrastructure Plan provides a data-driven vision for conservation of our region’s most important and defining natural resources.
The 18-county Hill Country stretches from Austin to San Antonio and west to Uvalde and Junction, and includes three of the top ten fastest growing counties in the country. As the population grows, impacts are being felt in the form of increasing pressure on groundwater resources, land fragmentation and loss of natural areas, and light pollution that clouds the view of the stars at night. With these challenges in mind, conservation partners joined forces to create a plan for proactively protecting the natural resources so central to the identity of the Hill Country.
“So often our discussion around infrastructure investments are centered on roads, transmission lines, pipelines, and sewer systems, or other ‘hard’ infrastructure projects,” said Josh Sendejar, Network Manager. “We know that open spaces, clean and flowing rivers, aquifers, working ranchlands, dark night skies, and healthy riparian areas provide invaluable infrastructure services, at little to no cost to taxpayers.”
