WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas — Williamson County is getting a new nature preserve.
Leaders with the Hill Country Conservancy (HCC) announced on Tuesday the 1,200-acre preserve was anonymously donated.
The Pecan Springs Karst Preserve will be used for conservation, research, educational outreach and public recreation. It is located within the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone, “at the gateway to the Hill Country,” about 5 miles east of Jarrell.
The area is home to numerous endangered species, including Salado salamanders, golden-cheeked warblers and tricolored bats.
This fall, the HCC will begin opening the Pecan Springs Karst Preserve to the public on a limited basis for guided nature hikes, cave talks, bird-watching and other educational and recreational public events. The first opportunity the public will have to experience this unique landscape will be Sept. 23, in celebration of National Public Lands Day.
“We are thrilled to engage the research and conservation experts in our region on this property and provide opportunities for people to experience and benefit from the natural wonder that the property holds,” Hill Country Conservancy CEO Kathy Miller said. “Since we own this land, Hill Country Conservancy can share it with the public and conduct valuable research year-round that ultimately will help landowners throughout the Hill Country better protect and steward their land.”
The property lies directly in the path of a new wave of a growth that is expected to bring at least 24,000 homes to properties adjacent to the now-rural property over the next decade, a spokesperson said.
“The preserve is particularly important for fast-growing Williamson County, which has set aside for preservation less than a third of the land protected in Travis County and approximately 12,000 fewer acres than the far smaller Hays County,” the spokesperson said.
This is the largest land donation the HCC has ever received.