Travis County has worked to preserve much of the area’s natural gifts, but residential growth has etched subdivisions into the Hill Country like a young boy carving his initials on a tree.

The heart of Travis County Senior Park Ranger Roger Johnson’s presentation to the Friends of the Parks of Lakeway on Monday night at the Lakeway Activity Center focused on the purpose of the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve.
Identifying a growth pattern that pointed west of Austin, the county and City of Austin obtained a 30-year regional permit in 1996 to establish a system of preserves that now totals about 28,000 acres and protects the habitats for eight federally endangered species and 27 species of concern.
“We knew that [growth] would have an impact on these species,” Johnson said.
The elusive Golden-cheeked Warbler serves as a poster child for the list of endangered species that also includes the Black-capped Vireo migratory songbird and the Tooth Cave Pseudoscorpion.
“A lot of these animals are at specific locations. They are that highly specialized,” Johnson said.
Travis County manages about 6,000 acres of the preserve, including 818 acres for Steiner Ranch. Texas Parks & Wildlife, Lower Colorado River Authority, Travis Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy of Texas and private landowners are other partners in the land management plan.
The long-term goal is to acquire and set aside 30,428 acres total in western Travis County. About $22 million was approved for initial land purchases for the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, but Johnson said planners were told early on that most expensive land would be last 5 percent to 10 percent they sought and that has proven to be the case.
“A lot of people thought we could go out there and — with the city and county both working hard to acquire the land — that it would happen overnight, and it didn’t,” said Johnson who was assigned to the preserve from 2002-2008 as law enforcement specialist and cultural resources investigator.
Building and protecting the urban preserve has been difficult because of landholders negotiating for more money and residents cutting trees down, hunting on and accessing protected lands. When the county started working with Steiner Ranch, some residents there reportedly were mistaken about the extent of their property lines.
“We had folks putting up driving ranges out on BCP property … plumb with electricity so they could go out there at night and drive a couple of buckets of balls,” Johnson said.
Property owners who want to develop land that contains endangered species habitats may participate in the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan instead of obtaining federal permits. Mitigation costs range from $1,000 to $5,500 per acre. Small landowners who want to build a single-family home may pay $2,000 to mitigate one tract up to 100 acres.
He praised the multi-agency, landowner partnership that has secured thousands of acres in perpetuity.
“Nobody has taken on a task quite this difficult and met with the success — albeit in the short term — as we have. It has been a hard road, but it’s something that all of us as a community can hang our hat on,” Johnson said.