More than a hundred people crowded the trailhead to the Karst Canyon Preserve last week for its long-awaited official passage from private land into protected public land.
Throughout the dedication ceremony that followed, one phrase resonated among the heartfelt speeches, the ribbon cutting, photo ops and applause.
“This is your land now.”
A heartbeat from Jacob’s Well and part of the greater Jacobs Well Conservation Area, the 175-acre parcel safeguards a unique and critical karst formation of caves and conduits that percolate water to store in the Middle Trinity aquifer below.
Karst landscapes are one of the most threatened types of habitats in the world. What makes the Karst Canyon so important is its ability to recharge the aquifer at a high rate of 30%, which becomes extremely significant for a county experiencing an extreme drought and rapid increases in population and development.
“With this conservation, we are able to protect the sacred springs of Jacob’s well. We’re able to protect the recharge into the aquifer that not only feeds Jacob’s well, but supports the lives of so many people in this area,” said Karl Flocke, Hays County Director of Parks and Natural Resources.
“It also protects and conserves the headwaters of Cypress Creek and the dry Cypress Creek watershed and all the water flowing downstream into Wimberley and San Marcos, all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico,” he said.
The path to the morning’s ceremony was a long one. Executive Director of the Watershed Association David Baker told the crowd that, “this area was slated to be a mobile home park and a condo development planned for thousands of lots” directly above Jacob’s Well. In 1996, Baker joined forces with local landowners to form the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association which later became the Watershed Association. He praised the association’s board for their wisdom and generosity on behalf of the community.
He recognized former Hays County General Counsel Mark Kennedy who helped guide the Watershed Association’s purchase of the Jacob’s Well Natural Area in 2005 and 2006 with the Save Our Springs Alliance. With the purchase of other parcels, Jacob’s Well Natural Area became a Hays County Park in 2010.
In 2013, the Watershed Association began negotiating with families to purchase additional land for the preserve. In 2019, another local family helped guide a critical, program-related investment loan through the Harry L. Willet Foundation that made the initial acquisition possible.
Baker publicly acknowledged Ryan Willett, as well as Will Curtis and his mother, Louise Curtis, who “were the family that loaned us the money to buy this land.”
In 2020, Hays County voters said yes to Proposition A to approve $75M worth of projects to create open spaces, parks and trails, of which the purchase of the land for the preserve was one. In 2025, Hays County finalized the purchase from the Watershed Association through its voter-approved Parks and Open Space Bond Program and, with The Nature Conservancy, secured a permanent conservation easement to protect the land in perpetuity.
Baker acknowledged former Hays County Commissioners Will Conley and Lon Shell. “This wouldn’t have happened without collaboration and partnership with the county, The Nature Conservancy and the many experts that charted the land.”
Baker praised Deputy County Administrator, Tucker Furlow, a former Assistant District Attorney, for his work with the Nature Conservancy to secure the easements.
“This was a collective effort that took thousands of hours. I want to highlight Commissioners Ingalsbe and Hammer and the rest of our court for what they’ve done to make this day possible,” said Furlow in his remarks to the crowd. “Keep your eyes open for the future.”
Tucker praised the parks department staff, as did Baker, saying, “I want to thank our staff, Paul Stuffel and Pat Egan who cleared this area by hand. Baker added, “And my friend Johnny Woods, who was so instrumental in creating the back trail.”
When asked about their effort to construct the trail into the preserve, Egan and Stuffel said, “This is our backyard.”
As Baker ended his remarks, he said. “This is now public land. It’s your land. As residents here, it’s up to us to steward not only this place, but the places where we live. And so hopefully this can be a catalyst for a larger conservation movement that can restore the land and manage it to make sure that the land, the water we’re extracting, is not more than what is sustainable, to keep springs, like Jacob’s Well, flowing.”
To do that, he said, “will take 100 times the effort.”
As Baker concluded, he was met with sustained applause from the crowd. Hays County Commissioner Morgan Hammer reinforced Baker’s even-larger vision by adding her voice, “it’s all hands on deck now.”
