SMGA News: August 2021
Muddy Trails?
As members of SMGA, we all know that hiking and biking on muddy trails is verboten. Doing so is a good way to damage the trails and/or hurt yourself. The problem is that (1) visitors to the natural areas don’t always know this and (2) even SMGA members can’t always know when a given trail is muddy. To help with this problem, the Outreach Committee will begin posting a Muddy Trails notice on Facebook whenever we’ve had enough rain to warrant caution. But we’re starting small. To see how this goes, we’re beginning with Purgatory Creek Natural Area, simply because it receives the most visitors. So stayed tuned, and watch the SMGA Facebook page!
Elsik Tract Resolution Approved
On Tuesday, Aug. 3, the San Marcos City Council unanimously approved the resolution supporting the purchase of the Elsik Tract by Hays County. As SMGA president Sherwood Bishop said in his testimony before the Council, “Some of the natural areas in this loop are owned by the County or other entities, but the City of San Marcos owns the majority of them. This is beneficial because they’re physically connected, so one manager makes planning and stewardship easier and more efficient. There are still several small gaps in our greenbelt, but the only major missing piece is the 102-acre Elsik Tract.”
Once the Elsik tract is purchased and deeded to the City, the green loop around San Marcos will be largely complete. This has been a goal of SMGA since its inception more than 20 years ago. The Elsik Tract is also important because of its location over the recharge zone, as well as for its potential role in flood mitigation.
Thank you to the San Marcos River Foundation for its work in pushing through this resolution and for its foresight in urging the Hays County Parks and Open Space Advisory Commission to fund the acquisition of this land. Thanks also to the San Marcos City Council and to all who wrote letters in support of this resolution, the full text of which follows.
RESOLUTION NO. 2021-147R
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS SUPPORTING THE APPLICATION BY THE SAN MARCOS RIVER FOUNDATION TO THE HAYS COUNTY PARKS AND OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMISSION (“POSAC”) FOR HAYS COUNTY 2020 PARKS BOND FUNDS TO FUND THE ACQUISITION OF APPROXIMATELY 102 ACRES OF LAND, MORE OR LESS, COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE ELSIK TRACT FOR FUTURE OPEN SPACE AND CONSERVATION PURPOSES; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS:
PART 1. The City Council supports and the submission of application by the San Marcos River Foundation to the Hays County Parks and Open Space Advisory Commission (“POSAC”) for Hays County 2020 Parks Bond funds to fund the acquisition of approximately 102 acres of land, more or less, commonly known as the Elsik Tract for future open space and conversation purposes.
PART 4. This resolution shall be in full force and effect immediately from and after its passage.
PART 2. The City Council supports the possible transfer of ownership of the park area to the City of San Marcos, at no cost to the City, including development, management and maintenance.
PART 3. This resolution supersedes and replaces Resolution No. 2021-122R previously adopted on July 6, 2021.
ADOPTED on August 3, 2021.
New on the SMGA Website
If you aren’t familiar with the Emerald Crown Trail project and want to learn about it, you can now do so by visiting its new page on the SMGA website.
If you aren’t familiar with the Emerald Crown Trail project and want to learn about it, you can now do so by visiting its new page on the SMGA website.
From the project’s inception, SMGA has been a supporter and partner with the Emerald Crown Trail Work Group, which is chaired by SMGA member Mark Taylor. Other partners include the cities of Buda, Kyle and San Marcos, Hays County, and Great Springs Project. Stakeholders include the Hill Country Alliance, the Texas State University Geography Department, Take-a-Hike San Marcos, the cities of Dripping Springs and Austin, and the Guadalupe-Blanco River Trust.
Also new on the SMGA website is a list of our board members and officers, with photos and bios. If you’re just learning about our organization or have yet to meet its leadership, you can read about them here.
Great Springs Project Internship Announced
Great Springs Project (GSP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that envisions a national park-scale corridor of publicly and privately protected lands between the densely urban areas of Austin and San Antonio over the Edwards Aquifer recharge and contributing zones. This green corridor will be connected by a network of trails, linking four of Texas’ Great Springs: Barton Springs, San Marcos Springs, Comal Springs, and San Antonio Springs. The Great Springs Project envisions unifying existing local efforts to address the most critical water, land, wildlife, and public health challenges facing the Central Texas region.
Click here to learn about Great Springs Project’s Fall 2021 Internship. Applicants should send a cover letter, resume and three references to [email protected].
Matilda works!
A few of our newest trail crew members with some of our veterans. 
Elijah turns an ashe juniper branch into a faux bow, while Sheila moves rocks and vegetation from the trail.
A couple of good reasons not to stick your hand into a hole.
Join or Renew Your Membership Now!
You enjoy the trails. You obviously read The Loop. It’s time, then, to show your support for SMGA by actually joining! If you’re already a member, thank you. But you might need to check and see when you last renewed that membership. Many of you do this at the annual meeting, but since we didn’t gather in person this year, it’s possible that your membership has lapsed.
So what are your dues used for? A multitude of things—tools for building and maintaining trails, outreach and educational materials, boring things like office rent and utilities, including the internet site on which you’re reading this.
If you’d like to help support SMGA’s vision, you can join or renew here. Encourage your friends and neighbors to do so, too!
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