Save Texas Streams

Meet us at the Hill of Life trailhead on Camp Craft Road for a night hike on Friday, September 4th! 🕷️🔦 This walk will be led by our Board Vice President and seasoned Capital Area Master Naturalist, Andrew Harrod. Bring with you a bottle of water, a flashlight or headlamp, an adventurous spirit, and a curiosity surrounding Austin's nocturnal wildlife! 🦇

🚗 We encourage attendees to carpool, as parking by the Hill of Life is $2/hour.
🥾 Please note that this hike will be on the more strenuous side with a 500-foot elevation change, and plan accordingly.
🐕‍🦺 Dogs on leashes are welcome if well behaved and cleaned up after.

📅 Friday, September 4
🕐 7:45 - 10 pm
📍 1710 Camp Craft Road, Austin, TX 78746

🔗 Register to attend at savetexasstreams.org/guided-walks

🗞️ Save Texas Streams in the news - "Unsafe levels of of f***l bacteria found in a majority of Texas waterways, environmental groups say" by Abigail Jones with KXAN 🌊🦠😷

"Brian Zabcik with Save Texas Streams said water pollution in Central Texas generally comes from wastewater and stormwater. As far as E. coli specifically getting into our waterways, Zabcik said there are three main ways this can happen:

🚽 Municipal wastewater
“When you flush your toilet, all of that water goes down to sewer pipes that eventually go to a centralized wastewater treatment plant where the wastewater is treated and some of the pollutants are eliminated from it,” Zabcik explained. “The problem is that those pipes going to the plant are carrying raw sewage, and if there are leaks in those pipes, then that raw sewage will leak out into the environment and perhaps make its way into our creeks, our streams, and our lakes.

🛢️ Septic tanks/facilities
“Septic tanks are really common in rural areas, but they’re also common around the perimeter of Austin and the many subdivisions that we’ve built before sewer lines were extended,” he said. “Septic tanks are regulated by counties.”

🐕‍🦺 Pet waste
“And then the third way that I want to highlight the eco I can get into our environment is through dog p**p,” he continued. “It’s really appropriate that we’re here at Auditorium Shores because one of the places where you can let dogs run off-leash is over here at Auditorium Shores. People who do not pick up after their dogs when they p**p, that p**p will stay on the ground, and then when we heavy rain, that will be washed off into the stream, into a lake, carrying the E. coli with it.”
Zabcik said there are solutions for each of those three transmission routes.

For municipal sewage systems, he said there needs to be a concentrated effort to find and fix leaky pipes. However, that can be expensive and difficult because pipes are underground. He said Save Texas Streams wants the Texas legislature to earmark and allocate more money for wastewater infrastructure upgrades."

Meet us at Hold Out Brewing on Wednesday, August 19th for a presentation by Jason Mercer, R3 Coordinator for fishing & boating at Texas Parks and Wildlife. With a background in marketing at Austin Canoe & Kayak and 4.5 years recruiting, retaining, and reactivating anglers across the state, Jason knows the Texas fishing world inside and out. 🎣🛶

He'll break down the funding model behind our state's fisheries, what biological monitoring on our streams actually looks like, and how that data keeps our fish populations thriving. 🌊🐟

🕖 Arrive early for food & drinks and to socialize
🎤 Talk starts promptly at 7pm, runs till ~8pm, with Q&A to follow

🔗 Signup and find more details: savetexasstreams.org/monthly-talks

📣 Chris Milam and White Rocks Entertainment LLC want to build a 10,000-seat amphitheater, luxury hotel, and 650 condos on Dittmar Hill — surrounded on three sides by the 4,000-acre Barton Creek Habitat Preserve, home to the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler. 🐦

This isn't Milam's first try — Austin already rejected his "Violet Crown Amphitheater" plan in 2022. Now, partnering with UMusic Hotels (backed by Universal Music Group, the world leader in music entertainment), he's back under a new name with the same footprint, seeking city water service and a TCEQ wastewater permit to irrigate treated sewage onsite.

Concert noise and light pollution next to critical warbler habitat? Not on our watch. 🐦‍⬛💚

TCEQ Commissioners approved a contest case hearing request last month. Save Texas Streams, SOS Alliance, The Nature Conservancy, and local landowners are fighting back.

Stay tuned for ways YOU🫵 can help stop this project.

🌿 Looking to create a more water-wise yard?

Hill Country Alliance's new Native Landscaping Templates help homeowners transform their landscapes using native plants that conserve water, support wildlife, and thrive in the Texas Hill Country!

💚 Learn more and explore the templates through hillcountryalliance.org

🚲 Take on the Wild Ride for a rare opportunity to explore Shield Ranch's 6,600 acres of protected wildland by mountain bike!

This unique event features 8-mile and 16-mile cross-country routes through the scenic Barton Creek watershed, giving riders exclusive access to ranch roads that are typically closed to the public. It's a one-of-a-kind way to experience the beauty of the Texas Hill Country while supporting conservation efforts. 🏞️

🔗 Learn more and register at ShieldRanch.com/events > Wild Ride, September 26, 2026

🗞️ Save Texas Streams in the news - “Warbler, Barton Creek Concerns Push White Rocks Wastewater Permit to Hearing” 🪶🐦‍⬛🏞️

🏗️🏢 The proposed White Rocks luxury resort and concert venue would be bordered on 3 sides by protected habitat for the endangered golden-cheeked warbler. Why does this development threaten the survival of the species?

💥 Noise and light pollution from the concert venue would cause immense stress and disorientation in the warbler’s crucial breeding season.

🔊 Booming acoustics would mask over the warbler’s mating calls, resulting in lower pairing success.

🪺 Difficulty hearing begging calls can hinder parent warblers' abilities to tend to their young.

🦊 Visual and auditory disturbances also make it more difficult for birds to detect approaching predators.

What can you do to help protect the golden-cheeked warbler? Share this post to raise awareness surrounding this awfully planned development. If you have friends in the Austin music industry, urge them to speak out against White Rocks. 🤝🎙️🎧 Their public opposition could have ripple effects and be a game changer in this fight.