Dear HCA supporters and friends,

It is with a heavy heart we share news of the passing of Sky Lewey, conservationist, mother, and Nueces River champion on Tuesday, May 31.

Sky dedicated her life, work, and passion to protecting Texas's rivers. Through her career with the Nueces River Authority, she passed Senate Bill 155 to protect rivers and riparian areas from the devastating degradation of unfettered off-road vehicle abuse and sparked a community of river advocates in the process. She went on to create the Remarkable Riparian Network and field guide, the Pull.Kill.Plant campaign to stop the spread of Arundo donax on rivers, and the Up2U campaign to promote clean rivers and beaches. She also continued her family legacy of stewardship and conservation of the Open V Ranch in Uvalde.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL OBITUARY

Memorial Service this Saturday

A memorial service will be held this upcoming Saturday, June 4th in Uvalde. Details are below:

St. Philips Episcopal Church
343 N Getty St,
Uvalde, TX 78801

1:30pm: Viewing
2:30pm: Eulogy
3:00pm: Church service

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A Lifetime of Stewardship

"Fighting to protect water quality in Texas Hill Country waterways is nothing new. I had the privilege to watch, learn from, and help my parents back in the early 1980s as they raised awareness and organized opposition to keep wastewater out of the Nueces River...

I have spent the past 22 years deeply engaged in resource protection for the Nueces River Authority within the same basin where I was raised and where I raised my children."

CLICK HERE TO READ SKY'S OP-ED FROM APRIL

Sky Lewey River Protection Fund

Sky touched the hearts and minds of thousands of Texas landowners, paddlers, and river advocates. And yet several important campaigns that Sky championed remain unrealized. One of the most urgent is to protect Texas' few remaining pristine streams.

In partnership with Sky’s incredible family, including her children Jeff and Julie Lewey, the Hill Country Alliance established the Sky Lewey River Protection Fund. This fund will be used to ensure that Sky's legacy continues and the work to protect her Nueces River – and all the rivers of our state – carries on. Thank you for your support.

“Everything we do on the land is eventually reflected in a river. That’s why it’s so important to think about the whole landscape, how big and little pieces fit together.” - Sky Lewey

CLICK HERE TO DONATE IN HONOR OF SKY

In Memory

The Hill Country Alliance is honored to have had Sky's guidance in our formative years. Sky served as a Board Member for 10 years and led the organization as President during the creation of project-based teams to address Land and Water issues. To this day, these areas remain central to HCA's work. In 2019, Sky was honored as one of the first Heart of the Hill Country recipients alongside Christy Muse, HCA’s founding Executive Director.

Sky was an unparalleled champion for the Hill Country's waterways and riparian areas - and especially her beloved Nueces River. She created an immeasurable legacy of protecting the natural resources of the Hill Country that make this place so special, and grateful hardly begins to describe how many of us feel for having known and learned from her.

Our condolences go out to Sky's family - Jefferson and Cherie Lewey, Julie and Liia Lewey, her grandchildren Jack Mathis and Sonora Sky - and all those her work touched.

Sending love,

Katherine Romans
Executive Director, Hill Country Alliance

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Contact us at:
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