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Hays County announced the recent purchase of land for the Sentinel Peak Preserve with the help of a partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) which will serve as a Golden-cheeked Warbler habitat preserve and riverfront park. Photos courtesy of Hays County 

Hays County purchases land for Sentinel Peak Preserve

Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Hays County announced the recent purchase of land for the Sentinel Peak Preserve with the help of a partnership with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) which will serve as a Golden-cheeked Warbler habitat preserve and riverfront park. 

A press release from Hays County states, “As the park plan is implemented, Hays County will provide reservation-based, low-impact public access along the river and trails. This project will also preserve the condition of water quality and quantity for the Blanco River, San Marcos Springs and River, and the Trinity and Edwards Aquifers.” 

The former El Rancho Cima Boy Scout Ranch with 2,382 acres of land was sold to buyers who then split the land into tracts to be sold. TNC ended up purchasing a 530-acre property located west of Wimberley and entered an agreement with Hays County.

According to Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell, the county then contributed toward the land tract with funds from the 2016 road bond for environmental mitigation related to the construction of new roadways. The agreement would give Hays County the rights to fully purchase the tract.  

“We had that agreement with TNC for a few years now and then when the voters supported our latest park bond, last election, that provided us with the opportunity to go ahead and purchase the tract outright and so that's what we're doing now and we'll also be utilizing funds from that parks bond to make improvements to the area to accommodate the public,” Shell told the Daily Record

With the purchase of the Sentinel Peak Preserve set to close by April 29, Shell says that it will then be time to go over the park concepts and details related to the designing phases. 

“It's exciting to finally get to the point of actually creating something that the public could go out and enjoy and that's kind of the stage we are now,” Shell said. 

With the new project in the works, there is no set timeline or specified completion date. However, Commissioner Shell said that the rest of the year would be dedicated to planning  with goals of starting on constructing some of the improvements and conservation efforts by next year. 

Shell also spoke of the benefits for the Hays County community related to the project. 

“The access to the river, you know, that is limited, especially on the Blanco, is for the most part privately owned, there are very few places for the public to access the river” Shell said. “And, we all kind of see the benefit of having the public do that. So that they not only can enjoy themselves and have recreation, but also gain respect for nature and also supports us watching out for it the best that we can and so I think it's important to get the public engaged and out in nature.”

San Marcos Record

(512) 392-2458
P.O. Box 1109, San Marcos, TX 78666