CCCA

In response to the latest CDC guidance, CCCA is suspending all public events and programs until further notice. Please take precautions and stay well! (Updated 7/21/20)

​THE BIG GIVE 2020 IS BACK IN a little over 4 WEEKS!!!
Monday, August 3, 2020
This will be our only fundraiser in 2020, so please consider supporting CCCA on September 10, 2020.
​We will be very grateful!
​At 12:01 AM on September 10th, 2020, The Big Give – San Antonio begins the 24-hour donation event. There are many worthy causes vying for your support. Comal County Conservation Alliance is one of them. The only conservation nonprofit in Comal County, CCCA is working to preserve as much land, water, and wildlife in our county and our part of the Texas Hill Country.
 
Why should you support CCCA? Find out here.

THE BIRDS — in Song and Flight!
Saturday, August 1, 2020 
In the days of our 2020 quarantine when so much came to a halt, an uncanny silence became notable. Flights overhead were rare. Traffic on roadways and rails nearly ceased. It was the perfect moment for an amazing symphonic crescendo in the avian world. Songs and calls in the woods and across expanses of acreage stood out quite notably. I remarked to Karen about our good fortune in having both cover and open space around us. I was ushered back to my earliest life memories with birds.

Click here to read more.
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Frank Dietz, CCCA monthly columnist

monthly spotlight
Sunday, August 9, 2020
BIRDS
The August Monthly Spotlight is BIRDS! There is something about their sound that makes a difficult day better, a dark sky blue, or the stress of living in these times less taxing. Whether it's the melodious sounds of their songs or their signal calls, the beauty in their voices is something to behold. 

Learn what they are saying. Find out about all the birds that fly in Comal County. There is so much to learn and to enjoy in the company of birds.

"Birds were flying from continent to continent long before we were. They reached the coldest place on Earth, Antarctica, long before we did. They can survive in the hottest of deserts. Some can remain on the wing for years at a time. They girdle the globe. Now, we have taken over the earth and the sea and the sky, but with skill and care and knowledge, we can ensure that there is still a place on Earth for birds in all their beauty and variety – if we want to— And surely, we should."
                                                             — David Attenborough
Click here to get started.
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Couche's Kingbird

comal land conservation fund (CLCF)

To support its mission of preserving land, water, and wildlife in Comal County, CCCA has created the Comal Land Conservation Fund (CLCF). Its purpose is to provide funds to support projects that will
  • preserve open space,
  • protect water resources or habitat, or
  • improve a property’s conservation value.

Among the types of projects eligible for CLCF funding are
  • establishing conservation easements on private or public land, and
  • matching funds for conservation grants or loans. 

Click here to learn more.

it's our turn!

support our supporters

It's a difficult time for businesses in Comal County. If you can, while using COVID-19 protocols, help these businesses who have been there for us. Some may be closed, but remember them when we open back up.

​Click here to read more.

other news

for kids
Monday, August 10, 2020
You don’t need a Ph.D. in Wildlife Biology or Ecology to teach kids about the natural world! Curiosity and good modeling is often all it takes! 
In fact, you don’t even need to design your own curriculum. Because many PhDs and other experts in environmental education have already done the work of creating nature-based learning plans and resources. Many have provided free easy to use resources for anyone to use, and we have found those sites for you.

This list has been added to the many other offerings on the For Kids page. We hope you will use these valuable resources to help your children learn about nature and how its preservation is so important to our own preservation.
  • Audubon Society
  • Cornell Lab of Ornithology — K-12 Education Program
  • Encyclopedia of Life (EOL)
  • Environmental  Protection Administration (EPA)
  • USDA Forest Service
  • Kids Gardening
  • The Nature Conservancy

Check it out.

Blog
Sunday, August 9, 2020
Hays County Parks and Open Space Advisory Commission (POSAC) Recommends $80M Bond For November Ballot
If you live in Hays County, or have friends there, please join in urging Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra and the Hays County Commissioners to place an $80 million bond on the November ballot for parks, open space, watershed protection, and trails.

Read the Hays Free Press article.

Success Stories
Sunday, August 9, 2020
​Springs That Form Headwaters of San Antonio River Protected Forever
The springs that form the headwaters of the San Antonio river will be forever protected from development, thanks to an agreement involving the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word and Green Spaces Alliance.

Continue reading.
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The springs that form the headwaters of the San Antonio river will be forever protected from development. Credit: Bonnie Arbittier / Rivard Report

GREAT SPRINGS PROJECT ENVISIONS A NETWORK OF TRAILS FROM AUSTIN TO SAN ANTONIO
Sunday, August 9, 2020
​​Rivard Report
June 28, 2020
Brendan Gibbons
​
Twenty-seven years ago, Deborah Morin watched as the hills, streams, caves, and springs of the Hill Country outside of Austin were being gobbled up by construction.

At the time, Morin was serving on the board of the Hill Country Foundation, where she was involved with efforts to map the watershed for the Barton Springs portion of the Edwards Aquifer outside of Austin...

Read the rest of the story.
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Cyclists ride north on the Salado Creek Greenway Trail near Loop 1604 and Shavano Park. The trail and others could one day connect to a larger regional system between Austin and San Antonio. Credit: Scott Ball / Rivard Report