City Forum: Kimberlee Harvey and Jeremy Hull

Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan at 30

Thirty years ago, the Balcones Canyonlands Conservation Plan (BCCP) set a precedent for regional conservation planning as the first multi-species, multi-agency Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) in the country. It transformed potential conflict under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) into a collaborative, regional approach that protects core Hill Country ecosystems while providing a predictable path for development and infrastructure ESA compliance in the rapidly growing communities of Austin and Travis County. Since then, the BCCP and its partners have secured over 33,000 acres of natural land and desirable habitat, creating a permanent preserve that not only helps to safeguard endangered species but also delivers vital ecological services for Central Texas. As the original 30-year BCCP Permit approaches its end, the next chapter will bring big questions: How do we adapt to new science and changing conditions like climate stress, wildfire risk, invasive species, newly listed species, and preserve fragmentation? How do we finish land acquisition, secure long-term funding, and modernize biological goals and governance for decades to come? Join us as we look back at what the BCCP built, what it saved, and explore what’s next for conservation in Central Texas.

City Forum is a planning and urban issues speaker series coordinated by the UT School of Architecture's Community and Regional Planning program. The series is intended to provide a space for open, critical dialogue regarding crucial planning-related issues in Austin and elsewhere, and to encourage discussion of diversity, multiple publics, and social change.

All participants are welcome. Lunch will be provided; first-come, first-served.