Great Springs Project Plans to Create 100-Mile Trail Network
February 9, 2021 - San Antonio/Austin
The 100-mile project will receive community planning and technical assistance from the National Park Service and the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program. Courtesy Image: Facebook.
By: Ricardo Delgado - Staff Intern, San Antonio Sentinel
Running from San Antonio to Austin, the Great Springs Project plans to create a 100-mile trail network over the Edwards Aquifer recharge and connected zones in the area, adding an additional 50,000 acres of protected land.
The project receives community planning and technical assistance from the National Park Service and the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance (RTCA) Program, according to a recent press release by the National Park Service. The project will also focus on the protection of natural resources, endangered species and the water quality of the Edwards Aquifer, all affecting the projected population of 9 million between the Austin and San Antonio metro area.
Emma Lindrose-Siegel, who helps lead the Great Springs Project, says the goal of the trail is to be on public land, but it is still in the early planning stages.
“We're still in the master trail plan process,” Lindrose-Siegel says. “So, we're not sure what all the options are but definitely in the cities of New Braunfels, San Marcos, San Antonio and of course, everything in Travis County will be a public access trail. [...] We're doing our due diligence to find out what all the options are for trail routes to connect the four springs from San Antonio to Austin.”
The planned completion date for the ambitious project is 2036, but was rooted decades before the project even plans to break ground.
“The idea of a trail, connecting the four great springs was conceived by the Great Springs Project Board President and co-founder Deborah Marin and her friends 25 years ago,” Lindrose-Siegel says. “They had the original idea to conserve 50,000 acres in the Edwards Aquifer recharge and contributing zones, and it wasn't until 2017 that it became really clear that this was a rapidly developing region.”
Outdoor Recreation Planner for the RTCA Joshua Puck says the NPS is canvassing public opinion in the areas ideally benefiting from the trail to determine what local residents want out of the project.
“The biggest role that the [National] Parks Service is going to play, via what I'm doing, is public engagement, figuring out, [what] do the people living along I-35, between San Antonio and Austin, what do they want to see out of a trail system, right?” Puck says. “How can the trail system not just be in their backyard, but also how can it speak to them?”
According to Lindrose-Siegel, very few parts of the protected land between the springs and the cities will have actual trails on it, minimizing the environmental impact while providing an outlet for those in the area.
“The trail will be on watershed protected lands that are conserved, and really, a very, very small percentage of the 50,000 acres that we're working to conserve and protect will have actual trail on it,” Lindrose-Siegel says. “We think it's really important, especially now during [COVID-19] times, to have opportunities for public recreation, for people to get outside and have access to a public trail, and to access public parks. The trail is another element that people can connect to our land conservation work.”
An environmental impact report is “down the road in development,” along with other details of the master trail plan in collaboration with Alta Planning + Design. The master trail plan will possibly be completed by the fall of 2021, Lindrose-Siegel says.
The planned completion date for the project is 2036, but was actually rooted decades before the project even plans to break ground.. Courtesy Image: Facebook.
The exact route of the trail, while still a work in progress, will connect to a variety of important outdoor destinations, Lindrose-Siegel says.
“For example, in Travis County, we'll be connecting to the Violet Crown Trail, [which goes] all the way up to Zilker Park and Barton Springs Pool,” Lindrose-Siegel says. “We haven't identified the set route in San Antonio, but the response from the community and the conversations so far have been really promising and welcoming, because it's a need of the community.”
Should a community decide to not want the trail near using the means available to them, the project would look at redirecting the trail where necessary, Puck said. He adds they will attempt to present the advantages of the project to the community honestly.
“Well, the remedy to that would be looking at new trail alignments, redirecting the trail, figuring [it] out,” Puck says. “The real remedy is asking why don't they want it? What are the perceived disadvantages of having the trial system, and trying to work with those questions that they have? If there's perceived disadvantages, we have to take that road and answer those questions [...] You always present the truth and honesty to those communities.”
Puck called the 15-year timeline of the project “speedy” and “ambitious”, but did clarify doing research and acknowledging issues as they come could slow it down.
The project’s lofty aims to both provide an environmentally friendly release for millions of people while appeasing said millions of people for possibly fifteen or more years is bold, but the rewards reaped by the endeavor justify the work, Lindrose-Siegel posits.
“I think there's also [an] opportunity for local businesses, increased tourism,” Lindrose-Siegel said. “[A] 100-mile trail the opportunity to hike or bike between the cities of Austin, San Marcos New Braunfels, San Antonio - this could be the great trail system of the South.”
Ricardo Delgado transferred to Texas State University at San Marcos to study journalism and minor in political science. He expects to graduate in the spring of 2021. Email him at reporter@sasentinel.com