Jon Cradit is president of the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance. He will speak to the Rotary Club of San Marcos about SMGA on April 8. Rotary meets at noon at the VFW Hall, 1701 Hunter Road, and visitors are always welcome at meetings.
SMGA creates and maintains interconnected parks and natural areas in San Marcos, including 10 natural areas and more than 30 miles of trails. It is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization. San Marcos Rotary donated $5,000 to the group last fall to help fund trail creation and maintenance.
SMGA is a partner in the Emerald Crown Work Group in support of Emerald Crown Trail, a proposed trail system that with connections to other trails would eventually link Austin and San Antonio. The Emerald Crown Trail is a proposed trail system that would link Buda, Kyle, San Marcos, and areas of Hays County, with connections to other trails to the north towards Austin and to the south towards New Braunfels and San Antonio.
A totally volunteer organization, SMGA maintains a regular weekly schedule of trail building and maintenance. In 2025, volunteers, both on the trails and in other capacities — serving at community events or tending to organizational tasks — contributed at least 3,000 hours, which have been valued at more than $103k.
Cradit has a bachelor’s degree in environmental management and is licensed as a professional geoscientist. He worked for many years for the Edwards Aquifer Authority where he conducted karst studies and groundwater flow research.
Rotary is nonprofit, nonpolitical, and nonreligious. The San Marcos club is 105 years old.
