WILLIAMSON COUNTY ESTABLISHES REGIONAL
 CAVE PRESERVATION PROGRAM

At a ceremony on a recent sunny Saturday morning, Steve Williams, the Director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, signed an innovative Karst Conservation Agreement with Smith|Robertson client, the Williamson County Karst Foundation, a conservation foundation created by Williamson County, Texas. Under the Agreement, the Foundation and the County will preserve rare cave ecosystems inhabited by various endangered invertebrates in exchange for allowing critical road and highway projects to move forward. The Foundation will also create and "bank" mitigation credits for potential sale to other governmental entities as well as private parties.

For more information on the Foundation and media coverage on the effort, please see the Foundation's web site at www.wilcokarst.org.