Friends of Lost Maples is among 14 organizations selected to receive funding through the Hill Country Alliance’s second annual Night Sky Preservation Fund, which will support projects aimed at protecting the region’s starry skies across 11 counties.
The Hill Country Alliance announced the 2026 recipients of the fund, which spans Bandera, Bexar, Blanco, Burnet, Comal, Hays, Kendall, Lampasas, Real, Travis and Uvalde counties. The selected projects focus on improving regional night sky quality through enhanced outdoor lighting, expanded education and outreach, and increased sky quality monitoring.
With support from the Coypu Foundation and individual night sky advocates, the fund received 22 applications this year and selected 14 organizations and projects, an increase from its inaugural year when nine organizations and 11 projects were supported.
Friends of Lost Maples will establish sky quality monitoring throughout Lost Maples State Natural Area to support its application for designation as an International Dark Sky Park.
Other recipients include Blanco County Friends of the Night Sky, which will expand preservation awareness through targeted multimedia engagement; Camp Riverview, which will implement sky quality monitoring and model night sky stewardship; and the City of Wimberley Parks and Recreation Department, which will establish sky quality monitoring at Blue Hole Regional Park and promote dark sky awareness through community outreach.
Comal County Friends of the Night Sky will enhance its existing monitoring network, while Friends of Guadalupe River/Honey Creek, Inc. will retrofit non-compliant street and parking lot lighting fixtures in support of applications for International Urban Night Sky Place designations.
Friends of San Antonio Natural Areas will develop Dark Sky Adventure Kits for checkout through the local public library system. Hays County Friends of the Night Sky will expand its monitoring network and create portable lighting demonstrations to rotate through libraries, schools and civic buildings.
Jonestown Night Sky Advocacy will expand its monitoring network to support its International Dark Sky Community designation. Keep it Real Beautiful, Friends of the Night Sky will implement monitoring and model night sky stewardship. Kendall County will establish sky quality monitoring as part of its effort to achieve countywide International Dark Sky Community designation.
Smithwick Mill Estates Property Owners Association will advance night sky preservation education and outreach to residents and local businesses. Travis County Parks Foundation will retrofit non-compliant lighting at the Bee Creek Sports Complex in support of certification through DarkSky International’s Dark Sky Friendly Sports Lighting program. Vision Lampasas will provide outreach, education and networking opportunities through its annual Stars at Night event.
By reducing light pollution, the projects aim to conserve energy, protect wildlife and migratory pathways, improve nighttime safety and support night-sky-driven recreation and tourism.
“We are proud to support these projects and grateful to every organization that applied to the fund this year,” said Katherine Romans, executive director of the Hill Country Alliance. “By expanding the Fund’s reach to more organizations and more counties, we are strengthening our collective ability to safeguard the starry skies that define this region.”
The Hill Country Alliance is a nonprofit organization that works with regional partners to preserve open spaces, night skies, clean water and the unique character of the Texas Hill Country. Those interested in contributing to the Night Sky Preservation Fund may donate at https://bit.ly/ HCAfundthenight.
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