DRIPPING SPRINGS, Texas — Dripping Springs is no stranger to getting recognitions, whether it's being called a Dark Sky City or the Wedding Capital of Texas. Now it's added another statewide designation.
Anyone who wanders into a bird blind for viewing birds in Dripping Springs will see a few things. Birds might be the most obvious, but you might also find Paul Fushille.
He helped build the blind by the Dripping Springs Event Center. He built it to give others the chance to bird-watch easily.
"With a little effort, all of a sudden there are 20, 30, 40 species of birds," said Fushille.
In building it, he also helped the city build a reputation for bird conservation that helped earn its new designation.
"I caught wind of Bird City designation," he explained. "Texas Parks and Wildlife and Texas Audubon were putting together this program. You know, it was a difficult thing to achieve."
The Parks and Recreation director at the time applied. That was back in 2018. The City was awarded honorable mention but no one was fully named as a Bird City. The next year, it was the same thing.
That was until this year, when it was finally given the designation.
"I think we're the eighth city and we're the only one that got it this year, so year three Dripping Springs joined that club," he said.
The designation recognizes the effort the city and residents have made to maintain bird populations, promising things like turning off lights during migration times, keeping as many native plants as possible and raising awareness.
"One of the main three things is community outreach, and that's where a lot of it falls out to me, our club," he said as he explained what all goes into it now that it has the designation. "Not only do you have to do what you said you were going to do, but you also have to write a report each year saying, 'This is what we're doing,' and then in three years, we have to apply again."
It's protecting what Fushille loves to come and see, and making sure others can appreciate it as well.
"This community is just so good for this kind of stuff," he said.
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