Community Profile

City of Horseshoe Bay

Horseshoe Bay, TX

Cynthia Clinesmith

Mayor

Pledge Summary

Horseshoe Bay is a City of 7,600 in the Texas Hill Country. We have been taking a number of steps to help the monarch, including a mowing delay, promoting monarch friendly planting, public education, and hosting a community presentation on the monarch and honey bees. This presention was done with cooperation from researchers at the University of Texas at San Antonio. We have much community interest in protecting nature here, and this is reflected in our city master plan, which mandates that we act as good stewards for the environment. We have taken other actions besides the monarch pledge that are tied to the master plan. For instance, our Utilties Department is active in trying to protect and move bee hives that take up residence in our water meter boxes, and Horseshoe Bay has also been recognized as an International Dark Skies Community. We are in the early stages of building a source water protection plan for our local water supply, which is Lake LBJ, and we maintain an active water conservation program.

Community Spotlight

Seed giveaway

The City of Horseshoe Bay periodically gives away seed packets containing native milkweed and flowers to promoted the Mayors Monarch Pledge. The seeds are popular with visitors to City Hall. This was from our fall giveaway in October.

Horseshoe Bay supports pollinators

Besides taking part in the Mayors Monarch Pledge, Horseshoe Bay encourages our residents to take steps to support all pollinators including bees. Here we are giving away locally produced honey along with seed packets related to the Monarch Pledge.

Horseshoe Bay's Drought Tolerant Gardens

As part of its water conservation program, Horseshoe Bay maintains two demonstration gardens at City Hall to help our residents learn what best to plant in our landscapes here. Monarch butterflies are frequent visitors at these gardens.

Action Items Committed for 2021

Communications and Convening ▸

Launch or maintain a public communication effort to encourage residents to plant monarch gardens at their homes or in their neighborhoods. (If you have community members who speak a language other than English, we encourage you to also communicate in that language; Champion Pledges must communicate in that language.)
Engage with city parks and recreation, public works, sustainability, and other relevant staff to identify opportunities to revise and maintain mowing programs and milkweed / native nectar plant planting programs.
Engage with gardening leaders and partners (e.g., Master Naturalists, Master Gardeners, Nature Centers, Native Plant Society Chapters , other long-standing and influential community leaders) to support monarch butterfly conservation.
Engage with Homeowners Associations (HOAs), Community Associations or neighborhood organizations to identify opportunities to plant monarch gardens and revise maintenance and mowing programs.
Engage with developers, planners, landscape architects, and other community leaders and organizers engaged in planning processes to identify opportunities to create monarch habitat.
Issue a proclamation to raise awareness about the decline of the monarch butterfly and the species’ need for habitat. This proclamation must incorporate a focus on monarch conservation.

Program and Demonstration Gardens ▸

Host or support a native seed or plant sale, giveaway or swap.
Plant or maintain a monarch and pollinator-friendly demonstration garden at City Hall or another prominent or culturally significant community location.
Initiate or support community science (or citizen science) efforts that help monitor monarch migration and health.

Systems Change ▸

Change weed or mowing ordinances to allow for native prairie and plant habitats.
Launch, expand, or continue an effort to change municipal planting ordinances and practices to include more native milkweed and native nectar producing plants at city properties.
Integrate monarch butterfly conservation into the city’s Park Master Plan, Sustainability Plan, Climate Resiliency Plan or other city plans.

Past Pledge Archive

Mayor Name	Program Year	Pledge Date	Achievement
Mayor Cynthia Clinesmith	2022	3/22/2022		View Pledge
Mayor Cynthia Clinesmith	2021	3/1/2021	Leadership Circle	View Pledge

Pledge Status

Pledge Date

Program Year

Achievement

Links and Uploads

Action Item Report