Blanco Mayor Makes Impassioned Plea to Save the Texas Hill Country Before It Vanishes

by Blanco Mayor Candy Cargill

Hill Country Neighbors, we need to have an honest conversation.

The Texas Hill Country — our rivers, our ranches, our dark skies, our wildlife, our way of life — is under pressure like never before.

Growth is coming faster than our land and water can handle.

Developments are approved before infrastructure is ready. Aquifers are strained. Rural roads are overwhelmed. Native habitat is scraped away.

And once it’s gone — it’s gone forever.

This isn’t about being anti-growth. It’s about being pro-Hill Country.

There are many environmental as well as local conservation authorities that have long warned that the region is one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation.

Groundwater conservation districts continue to sound alarms about water availability.

Farmers and ranchers — the original conservationists — are watching generational land get divided and sold because the economics of stewardship are getting harder.

We cannot sit quietly while the very thing that makes this place special is exploited for short-term gain.

This moment requires leadership at every level:

• Politicians must prioritize water policy reform, regional planning, and responsible infrastructure before approving unchecked expansion.
• Environmental organizations must keep educating, organizing, and pushing for science-based protections.
• Farmers and ranchers need tools, tax protections, and incentives that make conservation economically viable.
• Counties and municipalities must demand the right to protect their citizens!
• And yes — artists, business leaders, and even celebrities who love this place must use their voices to amplify what’s happening here.

Every platform must be used and used before it’s too late!

This is not a partisan issue.

Clean water is not political. Protecting private property rights while also protecting shared natural resources is not political. Ensuring our grandchildren can swim in clear rivers and see the Milky Way at night is not political.

It is stewardship.

Here in Blanco, we fight hard to protect the Blanco River — one of the few rivers in Texas still considered pristine. We talk openly about water supply, wastewater standards, dark skies, and responsible development because we know once we make a mistake with water, there is no undo button.

The Hill Country does not belong to developers.

It does not belong to special interests.

It does not belong to any one generation.

It belongs to the future.

If we do not raise our voices now — together — we will wake up one day and realize we protected nothing.

Call your legislators. Support conservation groups. Attend county meetings. Ask hard questions about water. Support local agriculture. Elect leaders who value long-term stewardship over short-term profit.

This is our home.

This is our heritage. This is our responsibility.

For the very soul of the Texas Hill Country — let’s protect what cannot be replaced.

(Editor’s note: Cargill, who is a realtor, said her opinion does not necessarily reflect the views of the City of Blanco, its employees, committees or council members. Blanco is an historic small town located 13 miles northwest of Fischer on Highway 281. It’s home to a popular state park and is informally known as the Lavender Capital of Texas. Blanco’s population is around 2,300.)