Barton Springs Conservancy Values and Priorities for Zilker Park Vision Plan
Barton Springs Conservancy is advocating for the following values and priorities to guide the Zilker Metropolitan Park Vision Plan process. We believe these will protect the environment while welcoming visitors from across the city to enjoy all that Zilker Park has to offer.
- Prioritize the natural environment of the park with a focus on sustainable systems and innovative methods for maintenance and increased park usage. This goal will set a vision for new built elements to be integral and harmonious with nature and our unique regional characteristics.
- Provide integrated educational components that engage the public and convey the rich environmental, cultural, and historic aspects of the park. The goal of integrating educational components and providing way-finding should be informed by an interpretive study of the park, resulting in a formal Interpretive Plan.
- Create a welcoming, safe, inclusive, and accessible environment and culture of acceptance in the park for children and adults for all community members across the full range of diverse racial and economic backgrounds.
- Incorporate multi-modal transportation and parking solutions that would allow for improved parking efficiency, provide improved interior circulation throughout the park, and provide transportation solutions that facilitate park use by all residents of the city.
- Identify priority projects in the planning process that are eligible for accelerated design and construction work based on established community priorities.
- Ensure a balanced mix of amenities, activities, and events that support the overall health and sustainability of Zilker Metropolitan Park and the interests of the community.
If you have any questions about the Zilker Park Vision Plan process, please contact us at any time. For more information about the Vision Plan process, please visit https://www.austintexas.gov/ZilkerVision. Thank you for your continued support of Barton Springs Conservancy, and your advocacy for Barton Springs and Zilker Park.
Zilker Park Natural Resource Inventory & Management Guidelines Report
To further its mission of enhancing the Barton Springs experience through environmental education, BSC commissioned and completed the Zilker Park Natural Resources Inventory & Management Guidelines report to ensure that the Zilker Park Vision Plan process has the needed information for sustainable planning that protects the ecological health of the park.
By reading the report, you can learn how Zilker Park includes a diversity of plant communities influenced by topographic changes, variation in soils, hill country geology, impacts from a long history of site use, and periodic flooding that have shaped the landscape. Indeed, Zilker Park serves as a refuge and migration corridor for wildlife, with over 600 observed plants and wildlife species, including amphibians, fish, mollusk, birds, mammals, reptiles, and Great Egrets. 
In addition to highlighting the beauty and desirability of Zilker Park’s natural areas, the report acknowledges the degradation caused by millions of annual visitors who are loving the park to death. To address this dynamic, the report outlines management practices that would improve the site, by enhancing existing natural areas and expanding them where appropriate. Check it out and learn more about our natural resources at Zilker and how we can protect them for the enjoyment of future generations!