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| Friends of the Springs | |
|---|---|
| Name | Friends of the Springs |
| Formation | 1998 |
| Type | Nonprofit environmental organization |
| Headquarters | San Antonio, Texas |
| Region served | Edwards Aquifer, Comal Springs, San Marcos Springs |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
Friends of the Springs is a regional conservation nonprofit dedicated to protecting spring ecosystems, groundwater, and aquatic biodiversity in central Texas. Founded in the late 1990s, the group engages in advocacy, science-based restoration, community outreach, and policy work involving local, state, and federal agencies. Its activities intersect with academic institutions, municipal utilities, and conservation NGOs to address threats to karst hydrology, native species, and riparian habitats.
Friends of the Springs originated in response to declines in springflow at Comal Springs and San Marcos Springs that concerned local activists, scientists, and civic leaders. Early supporters included faculty from Texas State University, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey, and staff from the The Nature Conservancy and World Wildlife Fund who studied the Edwards Aquifer. The organization worked alongside entities such as the City of San Antonio, Bexar County, Hays County, Comal County, and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to press for aquifer protection measures. High-profile collaborations involved attorneys from the Environmental Defense Fund and litigators associated with cases before the Texas Supreme Court and the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas concerning water rights and pumping permits. Over time the group expanded networks to include volunteers from San Antonio Botanical Garden, students from University of Texas at Austin, staff from San Antonio River Authority, and representatives of Travis County and Guadalupe River State Park.
The core mission focuses on safeguarding springs, recharging zones, and native fauna, alongside promoting sustainable water use among stakeholders such as San Antonio Water System and Austin Water. Activities range from citizen science monitoring with partners like Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and National Park Service to legal advocacy following precedents set by cases like Sierra Club v. Morton. Friends of the Springs organizes educational programs with museums including the Witte Museum and the Bullock Texas State History Museum, and produces technical reports in coordination with researchers at Texas A&M University and Baylor University. The organization engages policymakers from the Texas Legislature and advisory bodies such as the Edwards Aquifer Authority board to influence water management plans and habitat protections.
Signature programs include springflow monitoring, species surveys, habitat restoration, invasive species removal, and public outreach. Monitoring programs employ protocols used by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and data-sharing with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for climate-related analyses. Projects have restored riparian corridors in partnership with San Marcos River Foundation, reintroduced native vegetation coordinated with Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and removed invasive Arundo donax alongside crews trained by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and The Nature Conservancy staff. Research collaborations involve laboratories at Rice University, University of Houston, Southern Methodist University, and consulting firms formerly engaged with Environmental Protection Agency assessments. Educational initiatives have run summer camps with Barton Springs Conservancy, workshops with Texas Master Naturalist, and citizen snorkeling surveys inspired by protocols from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
The organization is governed by a volunteer board drawn from scientists, lawyers, municipal officials, and civic leaders, echoing governance models used by Audubon Society of Austin and Sierra Club (United States). Executive leadership has included directors with backgrounds from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pew Charitable Trusts, and university research centers. Committees coordinate science, policy, outreach, and fundraising with liaisons to entities such as Edwards Aquifer Authority, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, and municipal water utilities like San Antonio Water System and Austin Water. Volunteers and interns are recruited through partnerships with University of Texas at San Antonio, Texas State University, and community colleges in the San Antonio–New Braunfels metropolitan area.
Funding sources include private foundations, individual donors, membership dues, grants from entities such as National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, contracts with municipal partners, and occasional litigation settlements. Major foundation supporters have included Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Packard Foundation, Ford Foundation, and regional philanthropies like the San Antonio Area Foundation. Technical partners include The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Trout Unlimited, and federal agencies such as the U.S. Geological Survey and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Collaborative grants have been awarded in concert with universities including Texas A&M University, University of Texas at Austin, and Texas State University.
Work by Friends of the Springs contributed to increased protection of recharge zones in county land-use plans, scientific publications in collaboration with PNAS-affiliated researchers, and inclusion of springflow protections in municipal water plans for San Antonio and Austin. Achievements garnered awards and recognition from civic groups like Keep Austin Beautiful, environmental awards from EPA Region 6, and academic citations by faculty at Texas State University and University of Texas at Austin. Conservation outcomes include improved habitat conditions for endemic species monitored by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and documented in reports shared with Congressional Natural Resources Committee staffers.
Ongoing challenges include competing groundwater withdrawals by agricultural users in Bexar County and industrial stakeholders, legal complexities involving riparian rights litigated in the Texas Supreme Court, and climate-driven variability in precipitation highlighted by NOAA and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessments. Threats also include contamination risks from urban runoff affecting waterways managed by San Antonio River Authority, invasive species pressures documented by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and land-use changes within recharge zones overseen by county commissioners courts in Comal County and Hays County. Addressing these issues requires coordinated policy action with entities such as the Edwards Aquifer Authority, targeted science from institutions like U.S. Geological Survey and Texas Water Development Board, and sustained public engagement through partners including The Nature Conservancy and Environmental Defense Fund.
Category:Environmental organizations based in Texas