Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative
HCHCI is a collaborative effort between local, regional and national conservation partners. HCHCI focuses on enhancing and protecting natural resources through partnerships with dedicated, conservation-minded landowners.
About the HCHCI
Hill Country Conservancy and 17 other regional partners, like the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network, created the Hill Country Headwaters Conservation Initiative in 2018 to enhance and protect natural resources by partnering with landowners. Today, the HCHCI has expanded to include 27 partner organizations.
In 2023, the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service granted $23.2 million to the HCHI as part of their NRCS Regional Conservation Partnership Program. This grant is the largest-ever single award for conservation work in the Texas Hill Country. The funds are used by partner organizations to purchase conservation easements across the region, with a goal of enhancing water quality, soil cover and native biological diversity on approximately 24,000 acres.
HCHCI Partner Organizations
Comal County Conservation Alliance
Cibolo Center for Conservation
Cibolo Conservancy
City of Austin Watershed Protection Department
Edwards Aquifer Authority
Edwards Aquifer Conservancy
Great Springs Project
Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance
Guadalupe Blanco River Trust
Hays County
Hill Country Alliance
Hill Country Conservancy
Holistic Management International
Meadows Center for Water and the Environment
National Wildlife Federation
Project Bedrock
Texas Agricultural Land Trust
Texas A&M – Texas Forest Service
Texas A&M – Texas Water Resources Institute
Texas Hill Country Conservation Network
Texas Land Conservancy
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department - Inland Fisheries Division
Texas Wildlife Association
The Nature Conservancy
The Watershed Association
Travis County
USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Upper Guadalupe River Authority
Key Partners
Texas Hill Country Conservation Network
In 2017, a coalition of organizations and agencies came together to form the Texas Hill Country Conservation Network. to advance shared goals of conservation and sustainable growth in the Texas Hill Country. Working across a 17-county region of Central Texas, the Network aims to significantly scale the impact of conservation-focused organizations, universities, agencies, businesses and individuals working to protect natural resources, rural heritage and quality of life of this region.
Natural Resources Conservation Service
The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a program of the United States Department of Agriculture, helps America’s farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners conserve the nation’s soil, water, air, and other natural resources. All programs are voluntary and offer science-based solutions that benefit both the landowner and the environment. NRCS draws on a long history of helping people help the land. For more than 80 years, NRCS and its predecessor agencies have worked in close partnerships with farmers and ranchers, local and state governments, and other federal agencies to maintain healthy and productive working landscapes.