TCMA

New TxDOT video features TCMA’s Wurzbach Bat Cave preserve

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The Texas Department of Transportation has released a new video on Wurzbach Bat Cave, highlighting how the state partnered with TCMA, a consulting firm, and others to save endangered species.

Preserving and restoring cave habitat can save taxpayer dollars, decrease flooding, and replenish drinking water. That’s how TxDOT approached the balancing act that it has between reducing highway congestion while minimizing impact to natural resources. 

In San Antonio’s rapidly expanding west side, where State Loop 1604 meets Texas Highway 151, invertebrates on the Federal Endangered Species List were found inside caves and karst features as highway workers tried to build bridges and intersections. What happened next?

The result was a success story documented in a YouTube “Beyond the Road” video produced by TxDOT entitled, “Innovative Mitigation Preserves Cave Habitat.” Rachael Lindsey and Jim Kennedy, TCMA president and vice-president, accompanied TMCA Director Ethan Perrine and others to San Antonio for the filming, which also included interviews of biologists from Zara Environmental LLC. 

To complete the highway construction, TxDOT had to provide mitigation under federal and state law. That mitigation led to the purchase of Wurzbach Bat Cave, which was deeded to Texas Cave Management Association. 

The same endangered invertebrates at the highway construction site were also present in Wurzbach. So TxDOT bought the cave to offset for impacts to the endangered karst species at its construction site. 

It was the first time TxDOT had purchased property in a residential area for highway mitigation. 

The mitigation project also included habitat restoration, biological surveys, community outreach, and the development of a long-term management plan.

Rachael said TCMA exists to “acquire, protect, and manage caves in Texas, and we promote research and education and facilitate access to the caves that we work with.” 

Jim said the cave is hydrologically important because it drains a large area of the neighborhood, providing a natural conduit to replenishing the aquifer. Monitoring and restoring the cave may encourage bats to return there. 

“At one time, it had 20,000 to 40,000 bats roosting here in the summer months,” Jim said. 

Key to the mitigation’s success occurred when genetic sequencing at Zara confirmed that the eyeless Cicurina spider collected from the highway site was the federally listed Cicurina vespera — one of the rarely encountered species TxDOT was working to conserve.

When the path of roadway construction intersected with cave-dwelling endangered species, highway mitigation took a new turn. Other potential opportunities for cave management may exist in the area.

President’s profile: Rachael Lindsey

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Dear friends, fellow cavers, and stewards of the underground:

As we step into the fall season, I find myself reflecting on the extraordinary role caves and karst play in shaping not just our landscapes, but our entire way of life.
We know that beneath the soil lies the blueprint of our region’s resilience. The caves, fractures, and aquifers of Texas aren’t just geological features — they are the living infrastructure of our ecology, our communities, and our economy. Every drop of water, every spring, every thriving habitat depends on the health of the karst. It’s time we treat it that way.
The Texas Cave Management Association has always been about more than just managing caves. We are community builders, connectors, and problem solvers. We bring together scientists, explorers, landowners, and citizens who understand that protecting what’s beneath the surface ensures everything above it can thrive.
Every one of us — whether you’re mapping passages, leading a tour, restoring habitat, or connecting with community — has a role to play. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. Our collective knowledge, passion, and collaboration are exactly what this region needs right now.
Together, we can ensure that what flows beneath us continues to nourish everything we love about life aboveground. Let’s keep exploring, connecting, and building the kind of future that just makes sense — one grounded in common ground, common sense, and the enduring logic of life itself.

Yours in karst,
Rachael Lindsey
President, Texas Cave Management Association

A toast to The Caverns of Sonora

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Garrison Brothers and TCMA team up to support a unique cave …

Cheers, y’all, to an exciting partnership between TCMA and Texas’ first and oldest legal whiskey distillery, now supporting The Caverns of Sonora through sales of its new signature bourbon. Simply called Sonora, this seven-year aged Garrison Brothers bourbon is finished in rye whiskey barrels and bears the name of the famed commercial cave and city in Southwest Texas. 

The first 1,000 bottles of Sonora are available at the Hye, Texas distillery’s release event on October 18, according to a news release. The remaining 5,000 bottles will be on sale at Garrison Brothers’ e-commerce store and at other key accounts nationwide beginning early November – with $5 from every bottle to be donated to the Texas Cave Management Association for safeguarding The Caverns of Sonora, helping preserve this natural wonder for generations to come.

Besides being Texas’ oldest whiskey distillery, Garrison Brothers is the first outside of Kentucky to produce authentic, handcrafted, corn-to-cork bourbon whiskey—and only bourbon whiskey.

Thirty barrels filled
In March 2022, Garrison Brothers filled thirty 53-gallon rye whiskey barrels with four-year-old Garrison Brothers Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey. Three years later, the exceptional bourbon in those barrels matured into Sonora — drawing its name from the awe-inspiring Caverns of Sonora. “Just as the Caverns of Sonora took millions of years to form, Sonora is the product of years of careful aging,” the Garrison Brothers statement said. “Sonora is the culmination of years of craftsmanship, passion, and the relentless pursuit of excellence.”

How will Garrison Brothers and TCMA benefit the caverns? Charitable funds raised by the distillery through bourbon sales will be gifted to a nonprofit, Good Bourbon for a Good Cause, which will then earmark funds for restoration efforts at the cave, to be monitored by TCMA.  

“Sonora celebrates the natural beauty of Texas.”

– Nancy Garrison

“This is an incredible opportunity for TCMA and its conservation work to become known to a new audience as we support a world-class commercial cave and become involved with ongoing restoration activities there,” said Rachael Lindsey, TCMA president.

 

Women whiskey crafters
Samantha Olvera, a leader within the Garrison Brothers distilling team for the last seven years, is also the first Latina in Texas to craft bourbon from grain to glass. Master Distiller Donnis Todd guided Olvera to help manage the project alongside Nancy Garrison, the distillery’s co-founder, and other team members. 

Nancy Garrison explained, “Sonora celebrates the natural beauty of Texas, the legacy of Garrison Brothers Distillery, and the women who are shaping the future of handcrafted bourbon.”

Caverns of Sonora was a natural choice for what has become the ninth expression in the award-winning Garrison Brothers portfolio. One of nine commercial caves in the state, The Caverns of Sonora was named a National Natural Landmark in 1966 and is world-renowned for its helictites and other speleothems. Other Garrison expressions include Balmorhea, Guadalupe, Lady Bird, and Laguna Madre. 

At 108 proof, the autumn amber Sonora batch has a shared profile and tasting notes including rich aromas of sweet corn, oak, and rye spices that mingle with vanilla and butterscotch. These are followed by a bouquet of citrus zest, almond tea, and wildflower honey. The palate bursts with black pepper and cinnamon, then softens into a lingering finish of brown sugar and crème brûlée. 

Garrison Brothers has a long history in the Texas Hill Country, remaining active in the communities of Blanco, Fredericksburg, Hye, Johnson City, and Stonewall.