Staff Report
Craig Smith, director of the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD), stepped down after 24 years of service last Friday.
According to a press release, Smith was encouraged to run for the District board in 1998 by Sue Johnson, who was retiring as the director for Precinct 5 along with his late friend Jack Goodman, who was the board president. He was elected later that year and credits his wife, Mary Ann Neely, as a great political organizer and helping him win that first election 24 years ago.
He said he felt proud to have served with many fine board members and staff professionals since being elected.
Smith moved to Austin from Nacogdoches in 1973 to attend law school and first became involved in environmental politics with the Austin Sierra Club in 1990. In 1991 and 1992, he served as the Sierra Club president. Smith also served on the board of Save Barton Creek Association since 1991 and was president of the organization in 1997 and 1998.
“Serving on the board of directors of the Barton Springs Aquifer District for the past 24 years has been the pinnacle of my public service,” Smith said in a press release.
He began as a Barton Springs swimmer and environmentalist, trying to protect a unique swimming hole in the heart of his city. “I learned that the springs were at the end of an aquifer that reached for twenty miles or more underground through caverns occupied by little-known endemic salamanders, that also provided water to thousands of homes, businesses and industries,” Smith said. “I always wanted to save the world, starting with where I was. This seemed to be a good place to start.”
Smith has been involved in many projects, including the Aquifer Storage and Recovery, Demand Reduction, Habitat Conservation Plan and Multiport Monitor Wells. In 2005, Smith also created the Barton Springs Zone Regional Water Quality Protection Plan, which takes a regional approach to protect the aquifer and springs.
According to board president Blayne Stansberry, Smith is the longest-serving BSEACD board member.
“During his tenure, he helped our district, in the infancy of GCDs (Groundwater Conservation Districts), grow into a sophisticated, science-based organization,” Stansberry said. General manager Tim Loftus said Smith has been a “true champion of water-resource stewardship.” Smith said he was confident that his successor, Vanessa Puig-Williams, would continue with his work.
“Thanks for allowing me to serve,” Smith said.
