As we begin this new year I appreciate this opportunity to recap 2010 for you and I am also pleased to announce that I have handed the Presidency gavel off to my dear friend and colleague for the past twenty years at Save Barton Creek Association – Jackie Goodman.
A few events occurred last year that bring changes to the Save Barton Creek Association. Recently, Shudde Fath turned over the financial records to our new Treasurer, Kathy Smartt. For 30 years, Shudde kept meticulous records of every donation, kept the mailing list updated, paid the Association’s bills and prepared the financial statements. She is still going strong in her 90s, and still attends most of the board meetings providing extraordinarily valuable insights and institutional memory. We intend to digitize the trove of information in her fourteen file boxes accumulated during the past thirty years of daily financial management for SBCA. Thanks, Shudde!
As Save Barton Creek Association moves into its third decade(!) of existence, the Board of Trustees is now actively engaged in a comprehensive strategic analysis and planning for the future. As always though, the Board is committed to staying focused on the mission!
Times have changed and the Save Barton Creek Association is mindful of these changes. We are discussing these changes internally and engaging in external dialogue with many stakeholders to understand how these changes might impact the Associations implementation of its mission. That understanding will enable SBCA to address, and benefit from, the many changes in the “landscape” of the Aquifer. Here are just a few examples. The City of Austin Watershed Protection Department, which did not exist in 1979, now has almost 300 people evaluating projects, studying watershed science, and acting daily to protect and conserve the long term interests of the Aquifer and the environment in general. Hays County governments control development in two-thirds of the Barton Springs Zone. And in the “good news” department, several organizations have formed to help protect and preserve the waters of Barton Springs, such as the Hill Country Conservancy, the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, Envision Central Texas, the Friends of Barton Springs Pool, and the SOS Alliance.
So, as we consider these changes and many other challenges and opportunities, we ask ourselves, “What is the most effective role for the Save Barton Creek Association in the future?” A Transition Committee comprised of Jackie Goodman, Mary Ann Neely, Donna Tiemann, Sarah Baker Faust, and I, are working to answer that question. We will propose a “Going Forward” business plan to the Board of Trustees this spring. As you can imagine, the input the committee has received thus far from many stakeholders ranges from excitement to reserved concern for our venerable organization.
One important aspect of this “Going Forward” plan is the Board’s commitment to hire the Association’s first full-time employee within the next few months. Stay tuned for updates on this crucial piece of our reorganization.
Finally, let me list a few additional significant events that also occurred this year: Nico Hauwert, a hydrogeologist at the City of Austin and long-time “student” of the aquifer has discovered that Barton Springs may receive recharge from the Blanco River (click here to read an abridged version of his findings). Also, there’s been a steep decline in the number of proposed development projects in the Barton Springs Zone and an increase in projects elsewhere. The Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District published “Desired Future Conditions” and “Sustainable Yields” report. The Travis County Commissioners enacted Temporary Suspension on Development Permits over the Trinity Aquifer; and, the City of Austin Watershed Protection Department implemented significant initiatives to protect the environment in the Desired Development Zone.
As you can see, SBCA pursues its mission in a busy and ever-changing world. Many battles remain in the never-ending fight to protect and conserver the waters, flora and fauna of Barton Creek, Barton Springs and the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer, but we have many allies and we are heartened by their support.
Regardless of whether you are life-long member or perhaps this is your first visit to the SBCA website, I ask you, I urge you, I entreat you – to please renew your commitment to the “Heart and Soul” of Austin – Barton Springs – today. Click here to make a tax-deductible, charitable contribution so that the life force of Barton Springs will indeed be Eternal!
On behalf of the SBCA Board of Trustees, I wish you and your family a healthy 2011.
Jon Beall
Past President