The Pedernales River runs 106 miles through the Hill Country before eventually joining the Colorado River at Lake Travis. Its catchment area—the land that drains into the river—touches 8 counties and covers more than 800,000 acres.
The basin provides habitat for numerous fish and wildlife, supports agricultural, ranching and hunting pursuits, and contributes 23% of the flow into Lake Travis, providing a critical source of drinking water for downstream users such as the City of Austin.
How can we understand the economic, social and ecological value of such a diverse river, and how does the health of the river reflect land management decisions made in the far corners of its basin? What are the major threats to the water quality and quantity as the region sees steady population growth, land fragmentation and changing land uses? This edition of the Texas Water Symposium addresses these questions.
The panel's moderator was Dr. Andrew Sansom, Director, Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
Panelists include:
- Tim Birdsong, Ecosystem/Habitat Assessment Chief, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
- Mark Steinbach, Executive Director, Texas Land Conservancy
- Clinton Bailey, Director of Public Works and Utilities, City of Fredericksburg
- Pam Mabry Bergman, Landowner and Hill Country Land Trust Board Member, Pedernales Basin
- Howard Hicks, Landowner and Vice President of Public Affairs, Holt Cat
The Texas Water Symposium is presented by the Hill Country Alliance, Schreiner University, Texas Tech University, and Texas Public Radio.
