South Austin Creek Alliance

10/12/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/1QiASsbCfX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

09/16/2026

09/13/2026

We had a great clean-up on Little Turtle Creek today! We also have a clean-up on scheduled for 9/26 on the Williamson Creek Greenbelt just east of I-35! GivePulse registration is up!

But also, it’s International Caves and Karsts Day! Kiss the ground beneath your feet because karsts and caves abound in Central Texas and the western area of the Greater Austin area!

And we would like to recognize our amazing Cave (and karsts) Man, himself, Dr. Nico Hauwert, who has led hundreds of cave expeditions over the years and shares his knowledge with SACA regularly! I forgot to credit our friend, Kate Csillagi for the beautiful Cave curtain photos from the Cave under Bowie High.

08/14/2026

We’re having a Creeks and Coffee meet-up this Sunday. We’ll be hanging out at Switchback Coffee where you can grab cup of coffee or favorite brunchy beverage. It’s going to start at 11 officially but, everyone is welcome to show up whenever. We’ll be there until 1. We hope to see you there!

07/26/2026

We had a great clean-up today! It was hot and a bit sweaty but we finished up before the temps climbed even more. Friends of all ages helped us pull 25 large bags of trash, 2 tires, 3 shopping carts and various bulk items from the Williamson Creek West Greenbelt that sits between MOPAC and the Y at Oak Hill.

We plan on more clean ups in the area and we have plenty more happening around Onion and Slaughter creeks as well.

Thanks to all of our amazing volunteers!

07/24/2026

The other evening, just as the sun was going down, I heard a scramble in some bushes down the side of my neighbor’s house. Then out crept an orange tabby with a fat head and a lizard in its mouth. It slunk near the house then slid into the storm drain with its bounty.
Cats are cool and all, when they’re indoors. Did you know?
“A study by scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that free-ranging domestic cats kill 1.3–4.0 billion birds and 6.3–22.3 billion small mammals annually in the United States (Loss et al. 2013).”

This is a PSA. Not a judgement.

Perhaps no issue has captured more of the challenges for contemporary wildlife management than free-ranging domestic cats and their negative effects on native wildlife (Loss et al. 2018; Loyd and DeVore 2010). Feral and free-ranging domestic cats (Felis catus) are among the IUCN’s 100 of the World...

06/25/2026

We invite all our friends to join us this Sunday for wild walk with COA Wildlife specialist Rufus Raxlen at Mary Moore Searight Metropolitan Park. We’ll learn all about our common urban wildlife neighbors and how to spot them. We’ll stroll along Slaughter Creek while we learn more about how and why wildlife in Central Texas depends on reliable clean water sources, and who lives in them or around them. We hope you can join us from 9-11.

Please register on GivePulse to sign our liability waiver. It also helps SACA keep track of how many participants we have during our educational events.

https://www.givepulse.com/event/891810-Creepin%2527%2BAround%2BMary%2BMoore%2BSearight%252C%2Ban%2BUrban%2BWildlife%2BWalk-%2BSouth%2BAustin%2BCreek%2BAlliance

05/19/2026

Would you believe a lot of people aren’t aware that a lot of our storm drains empty out directly into our creeks?!

Trash, oil, grass clippings, dog poo bags…you name it, can end up washing into these critical waterways.

If you are interested in marking storm drains in your community, you can reach out to the city, or we can help you organize a neighborhood storm-drain marking event for one of your favorite south Austin streams/creeks!

Connect with us on our website or directly: [email protected]

05/03/2026

Hey friends - pay attention. We only have 24 hours left to make our voices heard. We don’t need another highway expansion.

Austin doesn’t need anymore pavement, anymore impervious coverage, toll lanes, indiscriminate destruction of our watersheds, creeks, caves and aquifer. We don’t need it.

We don’t need more traffic snarls caused by more construction on MOPAC. That ten minutes it will save you on your drive when it’s done in 5-10 years is going to cost hours before it’s finished while you sit in traffic. It’s a zero sum game. Also, if you want to save that ten minutes on your drive, it will cost you because why? More toll lanes. Please go check out our friends at Better MOPAC Coalition if you haven’t already. They can give you all the details on why so many of us oppose this and how to submit your comments to CTRMA before the deadline tomorrow.

Better MoPac Coalition organizations individuals and businesses united in finding better alternatives to MoPac expansion

04/22/2026

Celebrate National Volunteer Week April 19-25 by helping scientists and researchers understand and protect nature.
Join the City Nature Challenge 2026: Austin on April 24-27, 2026.
Join here and upload the iNaturalist app. https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2026-austin

Join the City Nature Challenge, a worldwide movement to document nature and help fight biodiversity loss! Every observation you make of WILD nature in the Greater Austin Area is a data point that helps scientists and researchers understand and protect nature for all of us.

How to participate:�From April 24 - April 27, 2026, get outside and take photos or record sounds of nature where you live. Look for WILD plants, animals, fungi, etc. (Wild means it was not put there by people and is not being taken care of by people.) Take a close look at the plants around you. Are there any insects or spiders on them? How many different types of birds can you find in your local park? Put on your nature eyes and see the Greater Austin Area in a whole new way!

From April 24-27th, upload your observations to the iNaturalist app and help identify what others have seen.

By participating in the City Nature Challenge, we can connect with nature, connect with each other, and connect with cities all over the world!

The City Nature Challenge is organized globally by the California Academy of Sciences and the Natural History Museum of Las Angeles County. The Greater Austin Area City Nature Challenge is put on by Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Master Naturalists, the Nature Conservancy, the Audubon Society, and many others.