Press Releases
AUSTIN, TEXAS [SEPTEMBER 20, 2023] – The Devils River Conservancy (DRC) is thrilled to announce the latest addition to its team, Dani Miller, who will take on the role of Communications and Engagement Manager. Dani brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for conservation and community engagement, making her a valuable asset to the organization's mission.
DEL RIO, TEXAS – May 4, 2023 – Texas attorney Dallas J. Barrington has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ward-Walker Seven Oaks Ranch and Cole Ranch against the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), GH America Investments Group (GHA), GH America Energy, and Greenalia Wind Power Blue Hills, for violating the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act (SB 2116), which became law in 2021.
AUSTIN, TEXAS [MARCH 2, 2023] – The Devils River Conservancy (DRC) board of directors is pleased to announce that Romey Swanson has officially been named executive director, leading the organization of advocates dedicated to treasure, preserve and protect the Devils River, its springs, and the lands within its water catchment area.
DEL RIO, TEXAS - JAN. 17. 2023 – Spain-based renewable energy company, Greenalia, is acquiring the rights to develop the Blue Hills Wind LLC project on the Chinese-owned Carma Ranch in Val Verde County, Texas.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), previously granted GH America (GHA), a subsidiary of China-based Xinjiang Guanghui Industry Investment Co., the ability to develop the 46-turbine project until the Texas legislature passed SB 2116, also known as the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, in 2021. The act prohibits entities from China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea access to Texas’ critical infrastructure. ERCOT, however, is allowing the project to proceed if the real estate is conveyed along with the development rights to Greenalia. GHA, controlled by Xinjiang oligarch Sun Guangxin, currently owns over 130,000 acres in the county with plans for more wind and solar developments.
The Devils River Conservancy (DRC), which played a pivotal role in the passage of the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection bill through their advocacy campaign, Don’t Blow It Texas, has partnered with the Lower Pecos Landowner Group (LPLG) and other locals, to express their opposition to the proposed wind farm development.
The proposed 46 turbines at 700 feet in height would destroy the iconic Texas viewshed in this county and, as a result, would negatively impact ecotourism from multiple world-famous state parks and state natural areas, impair archeological findings including historic cave paintings, and cause untold damage to bat roosts and migratory pathways of birds and Monarch butterflies.
“Conservation is extremely important to landowners in the Devils and Pecos River Canyons, as evidenced by the number of conservation easements in the area,” said Alice Ball Strunk, President of The Devils River Conservancy. “Wind farms belong in areas already degraded beyond their natural state – not near land specifically conserved for future generations of Texans.”
The DRC and LPLG recently met with Nelson Zuleta, Chief Operating Officer of Greenalia, to explain the significance of the region and advocate for the continued preservation of public and private lands in Val Verde County. Following the meeting, both conservation groups hired a law firm that has subsequently sent an official letter of opposition to Greenalia. The DRC and LPLG are currently awaiting an official response from the company.
View the opposition letter here: https://devilsriverconservancy.org/drc-news/2023/1/13/letter-of-opposition-to-greenalia
“Our meeting with Greenalia was polite and productive, but we drew the hard-line that under no circumstance will the landowners, citizens, and visitors of Val Verde County stand for wind development,” said James King, LPLG Member. “To our surprise, Greenalia knew very little of the Devils and Pecos ecological significance nor the landscape characteristics of northern Val Verde County, but more importantly, they knew nothing about landowner opposition. They are doing their land purchase due diligence and were receptive to learning, meeting, and understanding why wind development here is not compatible. It will consume our special intact Pecos-Devils landscape”.
Carma Ranch, the proposed site of development, is located between the Devils and Pecos River basins which together comprise one of the last remaining wild and ecologically pristine regions in Texas. Over 157,000 acres are under conservation easements in Val Verde County, as well as the Amistad National Recreation Area. Combined, these preserved public and private lands create an intact, undisturbed landscape rich with ecological and cultural resources.
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ABOUT THE DEVILS RIVER CONSERVANCY
The Devils River Conservancy, a 501 (c)3 organization committed to treasuring, preserving, and protecting the Devils River, its springs, and the lands within its water catchment area. The Devils River is a place many consider to be the last pristine river in Texas. Through education, research and advocacy, the DRC is on a mission to ensure the river's clean, clear waters and springs will continue to flow according to their historical and natural regimes. To learn more about the Devils River Conservancy, visit www.devilsriverconservancy.org
ABOUT THE LOWER PECOS LANDOWNER GROUP
Lower Pecos Landowners Group (“LPLG”) are riverside landowners who are committed to protecting, managing, and restoring the Lower Pecos River and its associated tributaries and uplands. Partnering with a variety of organizations, agencies, landowners, and stakeholders, the Lower Pecos Landowners Group will be a catalyst for developing resources and best practices for landowners through communication and action and stands ready to react to threats to this wild and natural Texas river.
Texas Senate Bill 2116 (Campbell et al.), now known as the Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, passed unanimously through the Texas House and Senate, was signed into law by Governor Abbott on June 5 and is effective immediately. The law prohibits companies from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from investing in projects connected to Texas's critical infrastructure, including the electrical grid.
New campaign highlights the future of Val Verde County’s unique natural resources
DEL RIO, TEXAS - JAN. 30, 2020 - Val Verde County is home to several unique water resources, including the Devils River, Rio Grande, Amistad Reservoir, Pecos River and San Felipe Creek. These surface waters are fed by groundwater from the complex Edwards-Trinity Aquifer and widely considered as abundant and pure. For decades, these waters have remained the primary source of drinking water for Val Verde County and many communities south of Del Rio, Texas, supported eco-tourism and agricultural industries, and contributed to upwards of 1/3 of the downstream flows to the Rio Grande.
Unfortunately, Val Verde County does not have a groundwater conservation district or water management plan of any type. Groundwater resources are therefore subject to the “Rule of Capture”, an English common law that allows any landowner to pump as much groundwater as they are able without consequence and regardless of the impact to rivers, lakes, creeks, municipal water supply, or neighboring landowners.
In response, the Devils River Conservancy has launched an initiative called, “Water. The Consequences?” to campaign for smart groundwater management in Val Verde County to protect municipal water supplies, environmental flows, and private property rights.
“Without a plan, the future of Val Verde’s water is unknown,” said The Devils River Conservancy. “Will your grandchildren have the opportunity to fill a stock tank, swim in San Felipe Creek, marvel at the turquoise waters of the Devils River or learn to fish on Lake Amistad?”
By 2070, the Texas Water Development Board expects the population of Texas to increase more than 70 percent, from 29.5 million to 51 million. Water demand is also projected to increase by over three million acre-feet per-year to meet population growth. Resource-rich regions like Val Verde County, will be targeted to fulfill the growing water demand of nearby cities and industries; the county has already received proposals to market water to San Angelo and San Antonio.
“Water has been the lifeblood of Val Verde County for thousands of years,” said Devils River Conservancy Advisory Board Member Dell Dickinson. “If we misuse it, we eventually lose it and this region will suffer immensely. Our goal then is to avoid the same fate that the city of Fort Stockton endured regarding their beloved Comanche Springs. And, to do that - unlike the city of Fort Stockton which did nothing and suffered the resultant consequences – we must proactively manage our groundwater such that future generations continue to be blessed with this most valuable resource. Bottom line, doing nothing is no longer a viable option!”
If Val Verde County does not conserve and manage the amount of groundwater that is pumped from the region, it can lead to several detrimental impacts.
Regional
Large-scale groundwater pumping can impact surface water flows in the same watershed. Depending on the location of wells, there can be impacts to San Felipe Creek or other surface waters in the region.
More than 1 million people visit the county’s state and federal parks for hunting, fishing, paddling and bird watching - all of which are water-dependent activities.
Val Verde’s $25 million per year tourism industry could be at stake if water is depleted from our region, leaving many residents without jobs.
International
The surface water systems converge in Val Verde County service both U.S. and neighboring Mexican territories.
If Val Verde County does not create a management plan, ungoverned pumping could affect water levels in Amistad Reservoir and impede the U.S. 's ability to meet the needs of the 1944 Water Treaty.
Ecological
Val Verde County is home to several threatened and endangered aquatic species such as The Texas Hornshell Mussel, The Devils River Minnow, and the Mexican Blindcat.
In accordance with the Endangered Species Act, if we do not protect the required habitat and water these animals need to survive, this could incite federal action and encroach upon private property rights.
“Water. The Consequences?” encourages Val Verde County citizens to get involved and advocate for responsible groundwater management and protection.
Join neighbors and friends for a Water Talk with the candidates for State Legislature
Monday, February 24 at 5:30 p.m.
The Paul Poag Theater in downtown Del Rio, Texas.
To learn more about “Water. The Consequences?” please visit devilsriverconservancy.org.
ABOUT DEVILS RIVER CONSERVANCY
The Devils River Conservancy, a 501 (c)3 organization committed to treasuring, preserving and protecting the Devils River, its springs and the lands within its water catchment area. The Devils River is a place many consider to be the last pristine river in Texas. Through education, research and advocacy, the DRC is on a mission to ensure the river’s clean, clear waters and springs will continue to flow according to their historical and natural regimes. To learn more about the Devils River Conservancy, visit devilsriverconservancy.org.
Statewide initiative reveals environmental, cultural and economic implications of wind energy encroachment to iconic landscapes
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS (January 24, 2018) – The Devils River Conservancy (DRC), is a community of people committed to treasuring, preserving and protecting the Devils River, the last wild and pristine river in Texas, its springs and the lands within its watershed in Val Verde County. Recently, 140,000 acres of land in the Devils River Basin and in close proximity to Laughlin Air Force Base, were purchased by foreign industrialists with plans for wind farm development. In response, the DRC has launched the “Don’t Blow It” campaign to advocate for thoughtful regulation of wind energy development.
For years, Texas has led the United States in wind-powered generation capacity. While the DRC recognizes the value and importance of renewable energy, it urges Texans to “Don’t Blow It” by placing renewable energy in locations that negatively impact the state’s few remaining unspoiled landscapes, ecologically and culturally significant areas, military operations, border security or the communities that depend on these assets.
“Wind energy infrastructure requires disturbance of a significant amount of land per megawatt generated; more than most other alternative energy sources,” said Ralph Duggins, Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission chair. “Now is the time to shape the future for renewable energy development in Texas and protect iconic, wildscapes like the Val Verde County river basins for future generations. As our population continues to grow and wild places diminish, we need to develop by design and encourage the wind energy industry to utilize appropriate locations and save wild Texas.”
Texas leaders supporting the initiative acknowledge the permanent landscape scars and adverse affects wind energy infrastructure has on: The limited public parklands in Texas Laughlin Air Force Base Border security operations
“The Lower Pecos and Devils River country represents one of the last true bastions of wildness in our state. The region is home to an abundance of rare and unique species, spectacularly clear, and clean, spring-fed waters, and stunning vistas that have largely gone undisturbed for generations. Thanks to the longstanding stewardship of the area ranch families, private landowners, and conservation organizations, the area is without a doubt cherished by residents and visitors as one of Texas’ most special places,” said Carter Smith, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) executive director. “For decades, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has proudly been a part of those efforts with its ownership of public lands like Seminole Canyon and the Devils River State Natural Area. Protecting the biological health and integrity of the lower Pecos and Devils River watersheds, as well as conserving the area’s wide-open spaces and dark skies, are fundamental to our work there, now and to come. Proposals to further intensively develop the area surrounding the Devil’s River run counter to many of the values that ranchers and conservationists, biologists and outdoor enthusiasts alike have labored long and hard to protect. The vision championed by landowners and groups like the Devils River Conservancy to protect and pass on the intrinsic character and wildness of the region is fully supported by TPWD.”
“Wind farms in Val Verde County pose an attendant threat to military training airspace, border security operations and public parklands,” said Skip Baker, Military Affairs Association president. “Responsible consideration of location must be considered in renewable energy development. Wind turbines create airspace hazards and compromise air traffic safety for Laughlin Air Force pilots at the largest training program in the U.S. by interfering with radio signals, potentially reducing their number of effective training days.”
Wind farms are heavily supported by government subsidies, paid by U.S. taxpayer dollars. In addition, the closer wind farm developments are to our borders, the greater threat they pose to the Department of Homeland Security’s ability to effectively secure our nation.
To learn more about Don’t Blow It and ways to support protection of the wild side of Texas, please visit, dontblowittexas.org.
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ABOUT DEVILS RIVER CONSERVANCY The Devils River Conservancy, a 501 (c)3 organization committed to treasuring, preserving and protecting the Devils River, its springs and the lands within its water catchment area. The Devils River is a place many consider to be the last pristine river in Texas. Through education, research and advocacy, the DRC is on a mission to ensure the river’s clean, clear waters and springs will continue to flow according to their historical and natural regimes for future generations. To learn more about the Devils River Conservancy, visit devilsriverconservancy.org. To find out how you can help protect Val Verde County’s unique natural and scenic treasures from wind farm encroachment, visit dontblowittexas.org.
Austin — September 18, 2017 — A study sponsored by Devils River Conservancy provides detailed models linking groundwater in a Texas aquifer to the surface flows in one of the state’s most pristine rivers. The study shows how karstic pathways of the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer follow the same channels as the Devils River watershed, creating natural springs that sustain the river.
“Natural springs play the major role in sustaining flows in rivers located in a semi-arid climate that experiences extended dry periods,” said Dr. Green, lead hydrologist on the project. “This study clearly illustrates the linkage of groundwater flow with surface-water flow in the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer located within the Devils River watershed.”
The headwaters to the Devils River are located in Crockett, Schleicher and Sutton counties, semi-arid landscapes with limited development. The Devils River runs 93 miles southwest into Val Verde County and Lake Amistad near the border with Mexico in southwest Texas. As a key tributary of the Rio Grande, the river provides essential freshwater flows to South Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.
The research team replicated hydraulics in the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer by coupling computer models of surface water and groundwater. The models were conceptualized and developed with a broad range of data sets, including precipitation, run-off, surface-water flow, and water extraction records. The models show, for the first time, the strong interaction between pumping groundwater and spring discharge in the river channels.
Groundwater pumping in the upper watershed is limited to domestic livestock, a few irrigation wells, and the city of Sonora. Combined, those activities account for 3,000 to 7,000 acre-feet of annual pumping, starting in the 1960s. However, the water budget of the watershed is not well constrained due to unmetered wells and unreported pumping, according to the study.
Computer models were developed to test variable precipitation and recharge in the presence of different pumping scenarios and to simulate their effects on spring discharge in the upper portion of the river. The shifting of the headwaters downstream could be explained, Green said, by diminished spring discharge associated with the onset of pumping in the 1960s. The models indicate that this pumping led to “dewatering” Beaver Lake, a former perennial lake that is about 10 miles upstream from the current headwaters located at Pecan or Hudspeth Springs. Results from the study indicate that limited extraction of groundwater can impact a river in a semi-arid climate.
“The DRC is an honest broker in the long term protection of the Devils River,” said David Honeycutt, DRC founder. “The science produced from this model illustrates that there has been significant historical drawdown on the flows of The Devils River and that any commercial harvesting of groundwater for exportation in northern Val Verde County will have an adverse effect on the necessary environmental flows to maintain the unique fauna of this special and threatened river. This model allows us to prove that fact.”
“This study provides, for the first time, the means to evaluate the relationship between groundwater pumping and spring discharge in the semi-arid environment encountered in the Edwards Plateau,” said Green. “These tools allow for water managers to evaluate water-resource strategies when administering the stewardship of this valuable resource.”
News Release
Media Contact: info@devilsriverconservancy.org, 512-482-4412
May 23, 2017
Meadows Foundation Grants $75,000 to Devils River Conservancy for an Integrated Groundwater- Surface Water Flow Model
AUSTIN — The Devils River Conservancy, a 501(c)3 organization created to protect what is considered the most ecologically intact Texas river, has been granted $75,000 by the Meadows Foundation to develop an Integrated Surface Water- Groundwater Flow Model for the Devils River basin in Val Verde County. The Devils is 100% dependent on groundwater that springs from the karst limestone formations of the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer and is a major tributary to the Rio Grande. The research supported by this grant builds upon recent hydrologic studies and expands the understanding of the relationship between surface and groundwater. This model aims to aid the water management in the Devils River basin by providing an in-depth understanding of the hydrology and effects of groundwater pumping. “The Meadows Foundation is pleased to play a role to fill in this important research gap and to protect the Devils River for future generations of Texans,” said Mike McCoy, Senior Program Officer with The Meadows Foundation.
“Texas is blessed with both resources and economic growth, but is challenged with how to balance the two. This research is an important step towards unlocking what’s been termed the mysterious or occult nature of groundwater, and should aid the management of the resources and protection of the Devils“, stated Randy Nunns, president of the Devils River Conservancy.
A diverse group of Texans, all with a keen interest in land and water conservation, gathered in Austin February 25 to learn more about the Devils River—the threats it is facing and the future of its flows.
A standing-room-only crowd listened to Carter Smith, executive director of the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD), who spoke eloquently of the rich biological diversity of the Devils River basin with its spring-fed clear waters that cut through deep limestone canyons and wooded riparian corridors.
Carter Smith addressing a crowd of Devils River supporters at Lamberts Downtown Barbecue.
This 94-mile river, located in a rough-hewn landscape of southwest Texas, originates in Sutton County, flows through Val Verde County, and empties in to Amistad Reservoir. The Devils is considered by many as the most pristine, pure river in Texas, and Mr. Smith lauded the Devils River Conservancy (DRC) as a group working to keep it that way.
The purpose of the conservation community gathering was an awareness and fund raising event for the DRC, a non-profit organization formed in 2011 by Devils River basin landowners. Eight board members direct the work of the DRC primarily in the areas of science, advocacy, and education.
“The DRC is here to stay; our singular mission is to protect and preserve the Devils River and its stream flows and habitat for future generations of Texans,” explained DRC board president, David Honeycutt. “This is the most important conservation story in Texas for our generation, and we have one chance to get it right.”
Attendees at the Austin event came from all parts of the state and represented a broad, diverse group eager to support the DRC mission to treasure, preserve, and protect the Devils River and the lands within its watershed. Four former heads of The Nature Conservancy-Texas chapter were in attendance, as well as other landholders along the Devils, biologists, hydrologists, ranchers, attorneys, real estate professionals, fellow non-profit organizations, and some very generous donors.
A conservation ethic was palatable in the room as images of the Devils River flashed across the screen. The theme of the evening was, “It’s not easy to save a river,” but when all was said and done, it appeared that might be possible after all.
Water users throughout the semi-desert region stretching along the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo are uniting in staunch opposition to a plan to pump and export more than 16 BILLION gallons of groundwater a year from the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer for use in San Antonio.
The plan—being promoted by the V.V. Water Company, Beeville—aims to cash in on water demand facing the San Antonio Water System and other west Texas cities without accounting for the severe impact to both ground- and surface water resources in Val Verde County and the water users who live there: irrigated agriculture, municipal suppliers, local industrial, mining, livestock, and rural domestic users; and wildlife species.
As much as 37 percent of the flow in the lower Rio Grande/Rio Bravo comes from the limestone karst of the Edwards-Trinity Aquifer. Lower groundwater levels resulting from such excessive pumping would diminish freshwater springs that feed the Devils River and other water bodies that in turn flow into the international Amistad Reservoir and the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo and their tributaries on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.
Despite the very real risks, the impacts of such large scale pumping have not been adequately evaluated. Nor have the international implications to the shared water resources of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo been assessed.
On January 8, the Rio Grande Regional Water Authority affirmed a resolution “specifically oppos[ing] the exportation of groundwater from Dimmit and Val Verde Counties . . . until such time as the environmental, social and economic impacts to the RGRWA and the Rio Grande Basin and its tributaries are better understood.”
On January 13, the Asociación Ganadera Local de Acuña (an association of ranchers and cattle raisers in northern Coahuila, Mexico) wrote the San Antonio Water System (View Letter of Protest PDF) advising that its members “join with our neighbors in Val Verde County and downriver in opposing these water marketing and export ventures that will adversely affect our water supplies. We will work with our neighbors, through Mexico's agreements with the United States, to protect our shared water resources and the ecological benefits that the water provides to all of the people in this region.”
These latest protests augment an already escalating criticism from diverse interests, including the Devils River Conservancy, City of Del Rio, City of Laredo, Uvalde County, Rio Grande Regional Water Planning Group, Southwest Water Alliance, numerous Catholic and other faith-based organizations, and many citizens from both sides of the border.
