The Nature Conservancy of Texas opens office in Uvalde
Non-profit group offers assistance to landowners and community for conserving land and water
UVALDE — The Nature Conservancy of Texas has launched its Western Rivers Project with the opening of an office in Uvalde to offer assistance to landowners and develop public and private partnerships for conserving life-giving waters and biologically rich lands in Uvalde, Real, Medina, Kinney, Bandera and Edwards counties.
The Western Rivers Project area includes portions of three beautiful Hill Country rivers – the Sabinal, Frio and Nueces – all significant for their essential surface waters and major recharge contribution to the Edwards Aquifer and its associated springs. The office, at 221 N. Getty (upper suite), will be staffed by Rebecca Flack, the Conservancy’s Western Rivers field representative.
“The Conservancy hopes to encourage voluntary collaboration among private landowners, community leaders, government agencies and non-government organizations to conserve the natural resources and cultural heritage of the region,” Flack said, adding that a primary focus of that effort will be water conservation.
“The relative abundance of water in the Hill Country is the region’s most treasured resource,” Flack said. “Water provided the foundation of the area’s original settlement and now contributes to its economic viability, scenic beauty, rich array of wildlife, attractiveness to visitors and quality of life for residents.”
However, she said, with unprecedented population growth in Central Texas, water resources are threatened by incompatible development, pollution, alterations of natural water systems and increasing demands on a limited water supply.
The Nature Conservancy will offer assistance and awareness of conservation resources to landowners, agencies and organizations for the development of wildlife management plans, surveys of native plants and animals, information on state and federal conservation resources, best practices in brush management, and facilitation for prescribed burning programs. The Conservancy also would like to serve as a resource for collaboration and coordination among conservation groups and agencies to facilitate the exchange of ideas, best practices and project sharing, she added.
Flack is completing a master of science degree in rangeland ecology and management from Texas A&M University, where she assisted with landowner project evaluation of the Leon River Restoration Project in Coryell and Hamilton Counties. Her undergraduate degree is in natural resources and environmental sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Flack grew up working on her family farm in Illinois. Previously, she worked for the Conservancy in Illinois, South Dakota and Florida.
Those interested in learning more about The Nature Conservancy’s Western Rivers Project and the kinds of assistance it can provide are encouraged to call Flack at (830) 591-0006.
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The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org. In the Lone Star State, The Nature Conservancy of Texas owns 35 nature preserves and conservation projects and assists private landowners to conserve their land through more than 70 voluntary land-preservation agreements. The Nature Conservancy of Texas protects 250,000 acres of wild lands and, with partners, has conserved close to a million acres for wildlife habitat across the state. Visit The Nature Conservancy of Texas on the Web at nature.org/texas.
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