The Hill Country population has doubled since 1980 and is expected to continue growing rapidly in the coming decades. That kind of growth and development has significant impacts on water quality, wildlife habitat, outdoor recreation, quality of life, and the region’s rural heritage. Hill Country Conservancy was formed in 1999 to preserve – forever – large strategic tracts of open space that conserve critical water features, preserve outdoor recreation opportunities, and help maintain the Hill Country’s unique quality of life. HCC is the only professional conservation organization working every day to preserve open space in the Barton Springs Aquifer region. We understand the values of ranchers and landowners, we understand the ins and outs of complex property transactions, and we understand how to get a conservation project across the finish line. Your support of our conservation work helps ensure that the Hill Country we all love will be here for future generations to cherish and enjoy.

For decades, the 250,000 acres overlying the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer had been the prize in a war waged between the area’s business and environmental interests. Finally, after years of discord, leaders from the two sides agreed to a series of meetings. During six months of hard negotiations and looking one another in the eye, the suspicions and doubts on both sides slowly turned into mutual trust. The parties realized they were fighting for the same thing: to preserve a quality of life unmatched anywhere in the nation. Everyone agreed the solution was the creation of a visionary land trust, and in a matter of days, Hill Country Conservancy was incorporated. Hill Country Conservancy’s board of directors is a coalition of leaders from the business and environmental communities, who are turning the lessons they learned in those “peace talks” into answers for the future. We are committed to fashioning unique, farsighted solutions to protect our land and our economy. Vast Open Spaces Our strategic vision is to create Vast Open Spaces. This plan leverages the open space already acquired in the Hill Country and adds to it adjacent or nearby land so the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. Eventually, we hope to have an open space “network” of more than 50,000 acres that will preserve the clean water, wildlife, rural character and scenic vistas that are currently threatened.

Hill Country Conservancy preserves vital natural resources through conservation, community collaboration and engagement to sustain our region now and forever.

Through the Hill County Conservancy’s vision to inspire a conservation ethic by cultivating awareness and transforming our community, HCC is ever mindful that diversity is essential to the success of our planet and integral to our success in conserving our natural landscapes and quality of life. HCC is committed to inclusion, equity, diversity and access in the make-up and operation of our organization, the representation of our Board, the access to our assets and programs, and the pursuit of our mission, to ensure fair and equal access and involvement in conservation for all.