Habitat Conservation Plan - Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has finalized and issued a 20-year Incidental Take Permit (ITP) to implement the District’s Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) for Managed Groundwater Withdrawals from the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. The HCP will safeguard the continued sustainable use of the aquifer and survival of the endangered salamanders, while the ITP will allow for continued managed pumping of the aquifer by District permittees.

The District applied to the US Fish & Wildlife Service (Service) for an Incidental Take Permit under Section 10(a) of the federal Endangered Species Act. The approved District HCP avoids, minimizes, and mitigates adverse effects of certain activities of the District and its permittees on the two endangered species at Barton Springs, the Barton Springs salamander and the Austin blind salamander. The HCP was developed, refined, and reviewed through a rigorous public process over the last fifteen years and has benefitted from input and recommendations from stakeholders, subject experts, and advisory committee members.

2023 Finalized Annual Report
2022 Finalized Annual Report
2021 Finalized Annual Report
2020 Finalized Annual Report
2020 ITP Annual Report – Management Advisory Committee (MAC) Meeting (1/26/21 – Virtual)
2019 Finalized Annual Report (Feb. 2020)
2019 ITP Annual Report – Management Advisory Committee (MAC) Meeting (1/28/20 – Buda City Hall)
Finalized Incidental Take Permit (Signed 9/20/18)
US Fish and Wildlife Federal Register Notice (Posted 7/13/18)
Final HCP (4/22/2018, submitted to FWS for processing and publication)
Summary of Changes Made to Draft HCP in Final HCP (Posted 2/9/2018)
Responses to Public Comments Received (Posted 2/9/2018)
US Fish and Wildlife Service Public Notice (Posted: 7/18/2017)
Estimated Timeline (Updated: 7/14/2017)
Final Environmental Impact Study (Revised: June 2017)
ITP Application (Submitted: 12/2/2014) – Page numbers updated 5/30/2017
Final Draft HCP (Revised: 5/25/2017)
Final Draft HCP Appendices (Posted: 12/2/2014)

Inquiries concerning this project should be directed to:

Tim Loftus
General Manager
Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District
(512) 282-8441
tloftus@bseacd.org

Much more information about HCP in general and this project in particular is included on subpages in this part of the website:

District HCP History and FAQ, including an historical perspective on this HCP’s development and a set of FAQs
Management Advisory Committee (MAC)
Archived Documents