Barton Creek

142 Pages·2019·33.817 MB·English

by  Ed Crowell, Andrew Sansom

barton creek
RIVER BOOKS
Sponsored by
Andrew Sansom, General Editor
Crowell_Pages.indd 1 12/11/18 8:09 AM
Crowell_Pages.indd 2 12/11/18 8:09 AM
barton creek
e d c r o w e l l
Photographs by Alberto Martinez
Foreword by Andrew Sansom
texas a&m university press college station
Crowell_Pages.indd 3 12/11/18 8:09 AM
Copyright © 2019 by Ed Crowell LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
All rights reserved
First edition Names: Crowell, Ed, 1948– author. | Sansom, Andrew, writer of
foreword.
This paper meets the requirements Title: Barton Creek / Ed Crowell; photographs by Alberto
of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (Permanence of Paper). Martinez; foreword by Andrew Sansom.
Binding materials have been chosen for durability. Description: First edition. | College Station: Texas A&M
Manufactured in China through FCI Print Group. U niversity Press,
[2019] | Series: River Books | Includes bibliographical
references and index. |
Identifiers: LCCN 2018033736 (print) | LCCN 2018055278
(ebook) | ISBN 9781623497309 (ebook) | ISBN 9781623497293 |
ISBN 9781623497293 (flex with flaps: alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Barton Creek (Hayes County and Travis
County, Tex.)—Environmental conditions. | Springs—
Texas—Texas Hill Country—Environmental conditions. |
Spring ecology—Texas—Texas Hill Country. | Environmental
protection—Texas—Austin—Citizen participation. | Water
c onservation—Texas—Austin.
Classification: LCC TD171.3.T42 (ebook) | LCC TD171.3.T42
T493 2019 (print) | DDC 333.91/620976431—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018033736
Crowell_Pages.indd 4 12/11/18 8:09 AM
To my grandchildren,
Gabriella, Judson, Charlotte, and Sunny,
all lovers of the natural world
*
Crowell_Pages.indd 5 12/11/18 8:09 AM
Crowell_Pages.indd 6 12/11/18 8:09 AM
contents
Foreword, by Andrew Sansom ix
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction 1
1. The End: A Bustling Cityscape Where an Aquifer’s Springs Fill a Historic Pool 3
2. Saving Salamanders: Searching For, Counting, and Raising Two Endangered Species 14
3. Family Lands: The Starks’ Summer Camp and the Family Legacy of Truman Breed 24
4. Public Battles: Barton Springs Uprising Stokes Decades of Political and Legal Fights 34
5. Shield Ranch: Six Miles and Sixty-Eight Hundred Acres of Protected Water and Land 44
6. Wild Greenbelt: Pleasures, Dangers, and Challenges in Canyons above Barton Springs 55
7. Hidden Neighbors: Famed Author’s Retreat and The Nature Conservancy’s Preserve 65
8. Vireos and Warblers: Working to Keep Thousands of Acres of Habitat Beckoning Birds 73
9. Checking for Pollutants: Watershed Checkups amid New Pressures from Development 83
1 0. Generations of Care: Rancher Henry Brooks and the Puryears Protect Their Lands 93
1 1. Conserving History: Reviewing an Easement Where an 1800s Pioneer Era Ended 105
1 2. The Beginning: Ralph Roy Breed’s Pasture Trickle and a Farm for Cheesemaking 113
Further Reading and Resources 121
Index 123
Crowell_Pages.indd 7 12/11/18 8:09 AM
Crowell_Pages.indd 8 12/11/18 8:09 AM