It’s a Loop!

For years, it was just a dream: Someday, it would be possible to get on a trail in Ringtail Ridge or any of our other natural areas and walk or bike all the way around the city. That someday is here. Granted, the trails still have to be built, but the way has finally been cleared to do that.

You can read all about this long process in the most recent issue of the San Marcos River Foundation newsletter. The story appears below:

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102 Acres Conserved through Hays County Parks and Open Space Bond:

We are elated to report that the 102-acre Elsik Tract was purchased last week by Hays County through the Parks and Open Space Bond. This completes the contiguous greenbelt loop around the City of San Marcos, which not only acts as a wildlife corridor, but allows stormwater to sink into the ground and refill the aquifer, instead of flowing “downhill” and exacerbate flooding. We of course want to widen this protective barrier, but having a contiguous loop is an amazing first step that we’ve been working on for 25+ years!!! You can see where the Elsik property sits within the greenbelt loop around the City, along with the other 4 projects that have been, or will be funded by the Parks and Open Space Bond.

The history of the Elsik Project: 

Luckily, when this 102 acres came on the market years ago, 4 private conservation buyers came together to purchase the land until it could be conserved in perpetuity. The reason for the importance and urgency on this land acquisition was the presence of karst recharge features for the Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone. Not to mention, it was the last link in the greenbelt loop around the city, which SMRF, along with many partners, has been working to protect for over 25 years now, with the ultimate goal of protecting the aquifer and connecting the existing trails with a contiguous 18-mile trail around the city.

When the Parks and Open Space Bond was passed by the Hays County voters, SMRF submitted a two-part project proposal within the greenbelt loop for 1) the purchase of Elsik and 2) the completion of the conservation project on Owl Bluff. Our project proposal ranked #3 in the first round of rankings, and remained a tier 1 project proposal through the second round of rankings due to the importance of the recharge features, flood mitigation, and trail connectivity opportunities.

No land conservation project is ever simple or fast, and we’d be remiss if we did not thank the partners who played a role in the permanent conservation of the Elsik Tract. First and foremost, we want to thank the 4 angelic private conservation buyers who stepped in until a permanent solution could be arranged. Secondly, we want to thank Bill Bunch at Save Our Springs (SOS) who was instrumental in finding the 4 conservation buyers. Dianne Wassenich was (of course) leading the way on Elsik early on, and who is responsible for leading the charge on many of the properties within the greenbelt loop around the city. Scott Nicholson donated countless hours of Realtor expertise to helping SMRF with so many conservation projects, including this one. Members of the San Marcos Greenbelt Alliance were involved in walking the property to create a design for the future natural surface trail, which should be built within the next 18 months for public use. Garry Merritt with the Great Springs Project (GSP) has been instrumental over the past couple years, especially when it came to the creation of documents associated with the sale of Elsik to the county, and will be in charge of organizing the creation of the trail on Elsik going forward. Kenny Skrobanek is also with the GSP, and was so helpful with mapping and other various things that came up throughout the process. Lastly, we want to sincerely thank Hays County Commissioner Lon Shell for making sure this project continued to be a priority, as well as Mark Kennedy, the County Attorney who has worked tirelessly for years to complete the various bond projects, on top of all of his other tasks associated with his position as County Attorney. If we have missed anyone, please know we are eternally grateful for your part in something that will benefit future generations to come. This work is not easy, and truly takes a village, so with that, we sincerely thank all of you who are a part of our village.