“Karst Canyon Preserve is a critical aquifer recharge zone and endangered species habitat directly feeding the Trinity Aquifer, Jacob’s Well, and Cypress Creek— a cathedral of over 118 karst limestone caves, live oak and juniper forest, native prairies, and a canyon that is now conserved in perpetuity. This land is protected and belongs to the people of Hays County and all Texans and visitors from around the world can now enjoy and steward this special place we have fought so long and hard to save.”
— David Baker, Founder & Executive Director, Watershed Association
Karst Canyon – A Landscape for Recharge
Karst landscape is shaped by the slow dissolution of soluble limestone into a complex underground architecture of caves, sinkholes, and conduits that move rainfall into the aquifer with extraordinary efficiency. Karst Canyon Preserve sits squarely in the Jacob’s Well Groundwater Management Zone — the recharge area where rainfall most directly determines whether the spring below continues to flow.
Peter Sprouse, Jean Krejca, and Krista McDermid of Zara Environmental led a systematic cave and karst survey of the property, mapping 118 distinct features, some of which plunge toward the same underground conduits that feed Jacob’s Well. The cave system on the preserve points geologically toward the spring itself — making this land not merely adjacent to the source waters of the spring, but intimately connected to its health and spring flow.
Below the surface, the karst features reveal intricate underwater caves. Salamanders, amphipods, and cave-adapted invertebrates — some potentially undescribed by science — inhabit the aquifer voids beneath the preserve. Additionally, the cave provides habitat for Mexican free-tailed bats, emerging at dusk in numbers that darken the sky.
The Wimberley Bat Cave, a feature visible from the trail that drops to a dry chamber before meeting water at depth, points geologically toward the Jacob’s Well conduit system. Standing at its edge, looking down into the earth, one understands viscerally that the spring and this land are not separate things. They are one interconnected system.
This area gets almost 30% recharge, whereas other areas might get maybe 3%. So this upper watershed is critically significant. Every inch of rain falling on this preserve is ten times more valuable to Jacob’s Well than the same rainfall landing anywhere else in the region. Protecting the land above is critical to protecting the spring below.
Zara Environmental researchers documented the cave system’s connections to the Middle Trinity Aquifer. Technical rope work was required to access and document all 118 karst features across the 175-acre preserve.
Wildlife Habitat Preservation
For thirty years, David Baker has worked with landowners to facilitate ongoing scientific research to determine amid the 118 known recharge features is irreplaceable prime Golden-cheeked Warbler habitat. Karl Flocke from Hays County Parks & Natural Resources Department, father Steve, a lifelong birder, has documented nesting of Golden-cheeked Warblers on the site for many years, noting the importance of preserving the habitat for the endangered birds.
The Golden-cheeked Warbler (Setophaga chrysoparia) is one of only two songbird species that nest exclusively in Texas. It depends entirely on mature Ashe juniper — specifically the long, peeling bark strips used to construct its nests — and favors the mixed juniper-oak forest of the Texas Hill Country canyon lands. Karst Canyon Preserve provides the warbler’s perfect habitat: a mosaic of old-growth juniper, deciduous oaks, riparian corridors, and grassy meadow openings that biologists and the USGS have mapped as prime breeding territory for the endangered species.
Jonathan Ogren and Matt Heinemann were among the first planners and ecologists to map this land’s potential, helping lay the scientific foundation that made the conservation case compelling. Their early habitat assessments documented the deciduous oak ecology, riparian plant communities, and the connectivity of this land with adjacent protected areas — forming a biological argument that reinforced the hydrological one. This land is not merely habitat; it is a corridor, connecting critical recharge zones with Jacob’s Well and the adjacent community.
Deciduous oak savanna: critical nesting habitat for the federally endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler.
From Development to Conservation
The land beneath the preserve was platted for thousands of residential lots, and a plan for a hotel and condominium development that would have blanketed the most sensitive recharge area above Jacob’s Well with impervious cover. The Coleman and Romano families — longtime stewards of these canyon lands — chose a different path. Rather than selling to the highest development bidder, they worked with the Watershed Association to make conservation possible by participating in the conservation process and offering the land at terms that reflected a deep sense of responsibility for what they were protecting. Their stewardship of this land before its formal conservation is a gift that will impact this landscape for generations.
To bridge the financing gap, the Harry L. Willett Foundation — through Ryan Willett, Will Curtis, and Louise Curtis — loaned the Watershed Association the funds needed to acquire the land. Their investment in conservation held the land in trust for several years before the Hays County Parks Bond passed and the funding became available.
The passage of Hays County’s $75 million Parks Bond in 2020 was approved by nearly 70% of voters, the highest bond approval rate in Hays County’s history, ultimately providing the public funding that secured the acquisition of Karst Canyon, which was the top-rated project by the Parks and Open Space Commission.
Mark Kennedy, former Hays County Attorney, and Deputy Administrator Tucker Furlow worked directly alongside the Watershed Association and the Nature Conservancy through the complex acquisition process. Critical to the transaction’s success was the partnership of The Nature Conservancy, whose Texas State Director Jeff Francel and staff attorney Justin Rice provided the institutional support and legal framework needed to structure the conservation easement. Their collective involvement brought expertise to a very important local effort, ensuring that the protections placed on this land will hold for generations to come.
Protection in Perpetuity
Conservation easements create the opportunity for permanent conservation and serve as long-term commitments between landowners and land trusts responsible for preserving lands. Balancing public access with ecological protection is challenging and requires an aligned vision, dedication, and commitment by all parties around the shared commitment to conservation. In order for Karst Canyon to be purchased, conserved, and transferred into public ownership, the diligent work and expertise of skilled attorneys, Malcolm Harris and Jerry Webberman, were critical and indispensable. Hundreds of hours of pro bono legal work made this vision possible, and we are so grateful for all of the dedication to the project and the careful consideration in drafting the conservation easement that allows for the preserve’s conservation in perpetuity.
The Work of Collaborative Restoration
When the Watershed Association began stewarding the land at Karst Canyon, years of restoration work lay ahead — clearing invasive species, opening trail corridors, removing debris, and beginning the long process of helping the land recover its ecological function and ultimately slow down the runoff, allowing more water to infiltrate into the aquifer to provide critical recharge to spring flows.
Conservation work crews tackled the heavy work of removing old structures and beginning the ongoing effort of habitat restoration. Students from Blanco River Academy worked alongside Master Naturalists and community volunteers, logging countless hours cleaning up the land, removing debris, and beginning native-plant restoration in the meadows above the canyon.
Watershed Association staff members Paul Stuffel and Pat Egan led efforts on the ground, often spending days in the field before the trails were passable and before anyone else could see what the land might become. The trail to the bat cave in the canyon was built by Johnny Woods and expanded as an Eagle Scout project from years before. He carefully created a path that would serve the land and also allow public access to this sensitive and unique natural area. Johnny was a dedicated and tireless steward and arborist whose efforts are apparent throughout the preserve in the trails and the surrounding trees he cared for over many years.
To continue restoration and stewardship of the 175-acre preserve and support regional conservation into the future, the Watershed Association is working to establish a Texas Hill Country Conservation Corps in collaboration with American Youthworks.
Connecting the Region’s Conservation Lands
The emerging Jacob’s Well conservation map: Karst Canyon Preserve (upper), Jacob’s Well Natural Area (lower right), and WVWA-conserved lands, connected by proposed trails including a future 5K loop and the Dry Cypress Creek Trail corridor.
The opening of Karst Canyon Preserve is not the end of the conservation vision — it is the next chapter in a 30 year effort by the Watershed Association and our partners to conserve and share this vitally sensitive and unique natural legacy with the community. Planning maps developed through years of partnership between the Watershed Association, Hays County, and the Nature Conservancy reveal that this land is part of a larger vision – a growing network of protected karst landscapes, canyonlands, creeks, and grasslands that stretches northward through Coleman’s Canyon and westward along the Dry Cypress Creek corridor.
“Karst Canyon is now public land,” Baker told the crowd at the recent ribbon cutting for the preserve. “And as residents here, it is up to us to steward not only this preserve, but the special places in the watershed where you live. Hopefully, this shared landscape can be a catalyst for a larger conservation movement — one that can restore and sustain our commitment to the land and water, so that Jacob’s Well and all springs across our region will continue to flow. We must recommit to a conservation ethic to manage our aquifers conservatively and to add more acres in conserved lands to achieve the goal.”
Gratitude for the People Who Made This Possible
Karst Canyon Preserve has been preserved through the generosity, expertise, and dedication of an extraordinary community of partners. A special thanks to:
- Harry L. Willett Foundation: Ryan Willett, Will & Louise Curtis
- Malcolm Harris & Jerry Webberman
- Hays County Commissioners Court: Debbie Inglesby, Morgan Hammer, Walt Smith, Michelle Cohen, former Commissioner Lon Shell, former Commissioner Will Conley, and Judge Ruben Becerra
- Tucker Furlough, Hays County Deputy Administrator, and former County Attorney Mark Kennedy
- The Nature Conservancy: Jeff Francel, Texas State Director, and Attorney Justin Rice
- Hays County Parks & Natural Resource Department -Karl Flocke, Jay Taylor, Katherine Studivant, and Caylie Houchin
- Hays County Parks and Open Space Commission
- Jenny Clark
- Coleman, Romano and Flocke Families
- Zara Environmental: Peter Sprouse, Jean Krejca & Krista McDermid
- GeoPockets:Matt Heinemann
- Siglo Group:Jonathan Ogren
- HTGCD & BSEACD – West Bay Monitoring Well
- Robin & Marcus Gary
- Texas Conservation Corps & American Youthworks
- Blanco River Academy Students
- Texas Master Naturalists and Johnny Wood
- Modern Geosciences: Brian Gottschalk
- Ash & Associates: Richard Taylor and Justin Berenato
- Stouffer and Associates: Andrew Watson
- Ray Don Tilley
- Ninety3 Project and Justin Farmer
- Watershed Association Staff – David Baker, Ellen Evans, Aliya Rosenbloom, Amber Smith, Zane Porterfield, Paul Stuffel, Pat Egan, and Shelly Buse
- Watershed Association Board of Directors – Parc Smith, Pokey Rehmet, Dorothy Knight, Scott Price, Dain Dunston, Jenna Walker and former Board Members Jack Hollon, Malcolm Harris, Jason Pinchback, and Vanessa Puig Williams
- Hundreds of Community Volunteers
A Milestone in Conservation
Hays County Pct. 3 Commissioner Morgan Hammer cuts the Ribbon for the Opening of Karst Canyon Preserve, along with Pct. 1 Commissioner Debie Engelsbe, County Parks and Open Space Director, Karl Flocke, Deputy County Administrator, Tucker Furlow, Hays County Parks Manager, Jay Taylor, and David Baker, Executive Director and Founder of the Watershed Association.
The opening of Karst Canyon to the public marked a milestone for the Watershed Association, Hays County, and the Wimberley community – after years of work, we can stand in the collective understanding that we have truly made a difference that will impact recharge in our fragile springs, creeks, and rivers and preserve the landscape of this place for generations to come. Karst Canyon Preserve is now open to the public year-round, with hiking trails, beginner bird walks, and educational programming planned through the Jacob’s Well Nature Center.
Future trail connections to Jacob’s Well Natural Area will further expand access to this remarkable conservation corridor. Further expanding conserved lands in the region, Sentinel Peak (The Old Boy Scout Camp, El Rancho Cima on the Blanco River) — over 500 acres — is expected to open in spring 2027. The conservation momentum in Hays County is real and building and the stewardship of our land and water is woven into our ethic of community conservation.
But for now, the people of Wimberley and the Hill Country can walk into Karst Canyon Preserve, stand on a ridge above a hidden canyon, and feel the alignment with the natural world – proud that this special place is now in the public trust forever. As Commissioner Hammer summed up the occasion and the important path ahead, she said, “Wimberley is a rare community that truly believes in one thing: conserving and preserving land for generations to come. But to keep Wimberley the way it is today, we have to move beyond just belief. We only have so many things in our toolbox to protect our water, and the most powerful one is buying and preserving more land. We’ve had great success before, and now I need all hands on deck. I’m calling on every one of you to help educate the community on why the next bond is so vital—let’s work together to preserve more land and ensure this watershed remains protected for years and years to come.”