In Boerne, decades ago, a group of like-minded friends and conservationists, led by Carolyn Chipman Evans and her husband, Brent Evans, began a grassroots movement to preserve land along Cibolo Creek, protecting the more than 600 acres from over development.
In September, the Cibolo Center for Conservation announced that it had purchased the final few acres of land along the city’s conservation corridor, the culmination of the 35-year-long effort to conserve the area. The newly acquired land completes the corridor that runs along Cibolo Creek and protects vital watershed lands, ensuring a continuous stretch of protected green space inside and around the city.
The area is also a thriving community space. The Cibolo Nature Center offers more than six miles of hiking trail space through five distinct ecosystems. The land includes Boerne’s popular Herff Farm, which hosts a weekly farmers market and community gardens and is the home of the Nest Nature School. Together, these spaces draw thousands of visitors each year, officials said.
“We’re protecting this property for our enjoyment and so that the Hill Country remains, at least this little part of the Hill Country, as beautiful as it was 50 years ago,” Tom Mengler, CEO of the Cibolo Center for Conservation, told MySA. “It represents the culmination of years of work with our community partners to safeguard Boerne’s natural resources and guarantee a thriving future for both people and wildlife.”
When land on the watershed is paved or developed, runoff can carry pollutants into creeks and aquifers, not only threatening local drinking water but also diminishing the natural beauty and health of local ecosystems. Not to mention that the heart of the conservation corridor runs through Boerne’s downtown area, along the Hill Country Mile shopping and dining scene.
“For anyone in the region, it means there is a group of conservationists trying to ensure clean drinking water for generations to come,” said Brian Davenport, the Cibolo Nature Center’s communications director.