The Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country has a four-pronged recovery plan: rebuilding homes, supporting mental health, economic recovery, and reviving the area’s quality of life.
Environment
Coverage of climate, conservation, natural resources, and environmental policy shaping the state, from The Texas Tribune.
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Hill Country floods
“My daughter was stolen from me”: Grieving parents point to Texas camp failures at Capitol hearing
Senate Bill 1, which would require more oversight of emergency plans and evacuation procedures at summer camps, was advanced after the emotional hearing Wednesday.
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Economy
U.S. will build sterile fly factory in Texas to stop screwworm from devastating livestock industry
Mounted patrol officers, known as tick riders, who typically patrol the southern border to protect cattle from fever tick, will also now serve as the first line of defense against screwworm.
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Hill Country floods
History repeated itself when the Guadalupe River swept away Camp Mystic. Why few lessons were learned after the 1987 flood.
The Fourth of July flood bore a striking similarity to the Hill Country flood that killed 10 summer campers in 1987. In the following years, officials took little action to protect against the next storm.
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Environment
Texas’ oldest wildlife refuge was set to expand. Then the Trump administration changed course.
Established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge was set to grow up to 700,000 acres to protect wildlife in West Texas and the Panhandle.
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Hill Country floods
Along Guadalupe River, more than a dozen summer camps have structures in flood zones
Most of the camps were built decades ago, before modern modeling and flood maps. Counties have little power to regulate construction flood plains.
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Texas Legislature 2025
Texas Republicans and Democrats, locked in redistricting battle, weaponize flood response
With Democrats’ walkout over redistricting bringing the House to a standstill, both parties are accusing each other of abandoning Central Texas flood victims.
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Hill Country floods
Texas identifies the 119 people killed in Kerr County floods
Most victims were Texans, but some were visiting from other states like California, Florida and Alabama. The youngest victims were 1 year old; the oldest was 91.
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Hill Country floods
After Hill Country floods, families face a difficult question: Rebuild, or let go?
They lost homes and summer cabins to the July 4 flood in Kerr County. Now they are weighing whether it makes sense to rebuild.
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Energy
Hundreds of old EV batteries have new jobs in Texas: Stabilizing the power grid
After reaching the end of their automotive lives, the batteries are being reused to provide lower-cost grid energy storage.