Barton Springs would receive much needed protection from development if an Austin committee’s recommendation prevails.

Under the plan, Austin voters would decide in May whether to approve bond funding for various community improvements including drainage, transportation, parks and water quality lands. The draft recommendation of the Austin Bond Election Advisory Committee directs $45 million for land in the Barton Springs watershed.

“Action on this issue can’t come soon enough,” said Environment Texas’ Luke Metzger. “Out-of-control development is rapidly destroying Barton Springs.”

The largest natural swimming pool inside an urban area in the U.S., Barton Springs is a true Texas treasure. Its cool waters provide welcome relief for hundreds of thousands of Texans in the hot summers and also serve as home to endangered wildlife like the Barton Springs salamander.

Because of the thin soil, porous limestone and rapid underground flow, the Barton Springs watershed is very vulnerable to pollution. Harvard naturalist E. O. Wilson noted the area as one of the planet’s 25 biological hot spots, or where strong biodiversity is threatened most by human development.

Before the bond question appears on the May ballot, it needs the final approval of the bond committee and then the City Council by March. Environment Texas is calling on the Council to direct at least $75 million for protection of water quality lands. The organization is also urging Hays County officials to do their part to protect Barton Springs.

“We’re asking the business and academic communities, as well as the public, to urge the committee and the Council to support this move,” said Metzger.

The Barton Springs campaign is part of a statewide campaign to protect Texas natural areas. According to Metzger, the state lost almost 900,000 acres of farmland, forest and other open spaces between 1992 and 1997—more than 20 acres per hour.

Along with the loss of natural areas, runaway development is contributing to the pollution of waterways like Barton Springs and historic Caddo Lake, air pollution from traffic ongestion, and the destruction of wildlife habitat. In addition, the Texas state park system remains chronically under-funded, forcing officials to shut some parks down and offer others, like the Big Bend Ranch State Park, up for auction.

Environment Texas advocates protecting open space, farms, and forests through sustainable growth in existing communities, better transportation planning, and both public and private land purchases.

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