On January 21, the Hill Country Alliance (HCA) announced the recipients of its second annual Night Sky Preservation Fund. Spanning eleven counties, the selected projects will improve regional night sky quality by enhancing outdoor lighting, educating communities about the benefits of night sky preservation, and measuring changes in sky quality across the Hill Country over time.
With generous support from the Coypu Foundation and individual night sky advocates across the region, HCA invited applications during last October’s annual Hill Country Night Sky Month. The Night Sky Preservation Fund supports regional nonprofit organizations, local governments, and small businesses working to protect the Hill Country’s starry night skies. By reducing light pollution, these efforts conserve energy, protect wildlife and migratory pathways, improve nighttime safety, and support night-sky-driven recreation and tourism across the region.
The 2026 HCA Night Sky Preservation Fund received 22 applications and selected 14 organizations and projects to support across 11 counties in the Hill Country, including Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Comal, Hays, Kendall, Lampasas, Real, Travis, and Uvalde—an increase from the Fund’s inaugural year, when 9 organizations and 11 projects were supported.
