Jeff's Blog: A Landmark Conservation Project

One of the things I like best about my job is I feel like I make a difference. That said, there are plenty of days when I have my doubts, plenty of days when I just about choke on cooking government stew.

It's the nature of a diverse, democratic society. Sometimes you stir and stir but the pot just won't boil. Or, more likely, it boils over.

So it's a treat when the souffle rises and the apple pie tastes just right.

We had just such a meal this last week at Commissioners Court. It was a year in the oven, and hot work at times, but Tuesday we laid out a feast that should feed souls for a long, long time.

We approved the Dahlstrom Heritage Ranch proposal, 5-0. I was proud to have led the negotiations.

The vote was to approve the project in concept. There are still hundreds of details to negotiate, contracts to sign. But it should be all down hill from here. This is, as they say, huge.

We will preserve more than 2,200 acres in the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone from development - forever. And not just any 2,200 acres, but some of the most environmentally sensitive lands in the whole Central Texas region, lands on Onion Creek in the heart of the Barton Springs recharge zone.

The land is just west of Buda, but this deal has implications for the whole county as well as the wider Austin region.

Tens of thousands of Hays County residents depend on the water recharged here for drinking supplies. This same source recharges the historic Barton Springs pool in Austin.

This is all part of our park and open space program. Using bonds approved by voters last year, we've partnered with cities and non-profit groups to fund ball fields, parks, and water protection in Kyle, San Marcos, Dripping Springs, Wimberley and Buda, as well as in the unincorporated area east of Interstate 35.

We've multiplied tax dollars many times over. It's a great set of projects, giving citizens access to water, and kids a place to play, east side and west side.

For me, the Dahlstrom project is perhaps our biggest success story, icing on an already tasty cake.

It's a win-win deal for the family and all the rest of us who rely on the aquifer. We taxpayers get a good deal, the family ranch stays in the family.

Here's how it works. The Dahlstroms will put a conservation easement on their ranch, precluding subdivision development and limiting ranch operations mostly to 'eco-tourism.' The county, in partnership with the Hill Country Conservancy, the City of Austin, and others, will pay the family for the restrictions - but only a fraction of what it would cost to buy the ranch out-right.

On the open market, for development or for quarry mining, the ranch might bring $40-$50 million. Conservation rights, development rights, are worth $20-$30 million (a final appraisal is pending). The Dahlstroms will sell us a conservation easement plus public access rights for just $9.9 million -- they'll donate the rest and take a tax write-off against ultimate estate taxes.

Through a little hard work, and with a lot of help from our friends, Hays County will pay just $5 million of that cost. The City of Austin will pick up $1 million and the Hill Country Conservancy, with aid from a federal grant, will chip in $4 million. The county will spend another $350,000 to put in a parking lot, trails, and educational signs. (The Dahlstroms will donate road material toward this effort as well.)

The agreement allows the family to survive estate taxes and keep managing the ranch into future generations. The county and its partners will have oversight of preservation efforts as holders of the easement. The public will get direct access to part of the ranch, and other parts will be used for public education. School kids will be able to walk right up to recharge caves and see what they're like.

It's unusual for conservation easements to include public access. This one includes it for 350-plus acres, about the size of Zilker Park.

Meanwhile, instead of thousands of homes landing on this ranch, the recharge area will remain pristine. There will be no development on the bank of the creek. The surrounding highways won't have the added traffic. We get more land preserved than we could ever hope to with an out-right purchase. The Dahlstroms keep alive a family tradition of land stewardship.

A few hundred acres are currently leased to a quarry. When the lease expires, that land will be conserved as well. We're looking at ways the quarry pits might prove an asset - a place to divert flood waters off Onion into recharge lakes.

Finally, there's a chance we may be able to combine these good works with a gun safety program in abandoned quarry pits on or near the ranch that will give the public a safe place to practice rifle sports and target shooting. That's far from sure yet, but it's something we're working on with the family and nearby property owners, so stay tuned.