Editing Lady Bird Lake (section)

==History==
[[File:Longhorn dam.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Longhorn Dam impounds Lady Bird Lake|alt=image of Longhorn Dam on Lady Bird Lake]]
The City of Austin constructed [[Longhorn Dam]] in 1960 to form Town Lake. The city needed the reservoir to serve as a cooling pond for the [[Holly Street Power Plant]], which operated from 1960 until 2007.<ref>{{cite web|title=Holly Street Power Plant is Retired|url=ftp://ftp.ci.austin.tx.us/GIS-Data/PARD/HollyShores_FestivalBeachMasterPlan/Archival%20material/Holly_AHC.pdf|work=Austin Energy Customer News|publisher=Austin Energy|access-date=April 9, 2013}}{{Dead link|date=February 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

Before 1971, the shoreline of Town Lake was mostly a mixture of weeds, unkempt bushes, and trash.<ref name=ktbc>{{cite news |title=Former Austin Mayor Roy Butler Has Died |url=http://www.myfoxaustin.com/dpp/news/local/111309-former-austin-mayor-roy-butler-has-died |work=[[KTBC (TV)|KTBC]] |date=November 13, 2009 |access-date=December 19, 2009}}</ref> Local television station [[KTBC (TV)|KTBC]] referred to the lake as an "eyesore".<ref name=ktbc/> Some concerned Austinites led small projects to clean up the lake. [[Roberta Crenshaw]], chair of the Austin Board of Parks and Recreation, purchased nearly 400 trees and shrubs in an effort to spearhead parkland development around the lake.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://austinfound.blog.statesman.com/2015/02/09/roberta-crenshaw-lady-bird-lakes-unsung-hero/ |title=Roberta Crenshaw:Lady Bird Lake's unsung hero |author=American-Statesman Staff |work=Austin American-Statesman |date=February 9, 2015 |access-date=January 14, 2020 |archive-date=January 15, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200115040521/https://austinfound.blog.statesman.com/2015/02/09/roberta-crenshaw-lady-bird-lakes-unsung-hero/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> During his two terms in office (1971–75), the [[Mayor of Austin]], [[Roy Butler (American politician)|Roy Butler]], led the Austin City Council to establish the Town Lake Beautification Committee, and he appointed Lady Bird Johnson as the project's honorary chairman. Johnson's involvement brought attention and money (including $19,000 of her own) to the Town Lake project, allowing for the planting of hundreds of shrubs and trees.<ref>Wear, Ben. "Lady Bird helped turn Town Lake into town treasure". ''Austin American-Statesman'', July 13, 2007. pA1, A6.</ref> The city also built a system of [[Hiking|hike]] and [[bike trail]]s along the shoreline of the lake.

On July 26, 2007, the Austin City Council passed a resolution authorizing the renaming of the reservoir from Town Lake to Lady Bird Lake in honor of Lady Bird Johnson, who had died earlier that month.<ref name="chron_20070726">Raskin, Amy. [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/side/5002581.html "Austin changes Town Lake name to Lady Bird Lake"].  ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''.  July 26, 2007.</ref>  Johnson had declined the honor of having the lake renamed for her while she was alive.  In renaming the lake, the City Council recognized Johnson's dedication to beautifying the lake and her efforts to create a recreational trail system around the lake's shoreline.<ref name="wilson">{{cite web |url-status=dead |last1=Wilson |first1=Janet |url=http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/news/stories/ladybird/0711ladybird.html |title=Lady Bird Johnson dies at 94 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219191918/http://www.statesman.com/news/content/shared/news/stories/ladybird/0711ladybird.html |archive-date=February 19, 2012 |website=[[Austin American-Statesman]] |date=July 12, 2007}}</ref>

In 2009, non-profit organization Keep Austin Beautiful<ref>{{Cite web |title=Home - Keep Austin Beautiful |url=https://keepaustinbeautiful.org/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104105157/https://keepaustinbeautiful.org/ |archive-date=Jan 4, 2024 |website=keepaustinbeautiful.org}}</ref> launched "Clean Lady Bird Lake".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Barnes|first1=Michael|title=Volunteer Linda McCoy-Shriever fights cancer and cleans up creeks|url=http://www.mystatesman.com/entertainment/volunteer-linda-mccoy-shriever-fights-cancer-and-cleans-creeks/nMYRa86yzoSjeqjNqz00dL/|website=Austin American-Statesman|access-date=22 February 2017|date=May 20, 2013|archive-date=February 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222194847/http://www.mystatesman.com/entertainment/volunteer-linda-mccoy-shriever-fights-cancer-and-cleans-creeks/nMYRa86yzoSjeqjNqz00dL/|url-status=dead}}</ref> The program mobilizes thousands of community volunteers annually to conduct large-scale cleanups along the lake every other month and targeted cleanups throughout the year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://austinist.com/2012/11/28/keep_austin_beautiful_looking_for_v.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130117122855/http://austinist.com/2012/11/28/keep_austin_beautiful_looking_for_v.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 17, 2013 |title=Keep Austin Beautiful Looking For Volunteers To Clean Up Lady Bird Lake |publisher=Austinist |first=Barbara |last=Strickland |date=November 28, 2013 |access-date=November 20, 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Clean Lady Bird Lake|url=http://keepaustinbeautiful.org/program/clean-lady-bird-lake|website=Keep Austin Beautiful|access-date=22 February 2017}}</ref>

In 2014, a one-mile stretch of the Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail, named after a former Austin mayor and his wife, was paved to create a boardwalk.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ann and Roy Butler Hike-and-Bike Trail and Boardwalk at Lady Bird Lake {{!}} AustinTexas.gov |url=https://www.austintexas.gov/department/ann-and-roy-butler-hike-and-bike-trail-and-boardwalk-lady-bird-lake |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=www.austintexas.gov}}</ref>

On February 5, 2024, members of the Austin Police Department responded to the 300 block of West Cesar Chavez Street, where first responders recovered a dead body that had been discovered by civilians earlier, following a series of four other bodies recovered from the lake in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hernandez |first=Emily |title=Body pulled from Lady Bird Lake not ruled a homicide, police say |url=https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/body-lady-bird-lake-austin-18650839.php |access-date=2024-03-07 |work=MySA |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Body Pulled from Austin's Lady Bird Lake, Marking Latest in a Series of Deaths |url=https://people.com/body-pulled-from-lady-bird-lake-latest-in-series-of-deaths-8559763 |access-date=2024-03-07 |website=Peoplemag |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=10 bodies pulled from Texas lake in 20 months, cops say. Now a family wants answers |url=https://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article285445087.html |access-date=22 January 2025 |website=www.star-telegram.com}}</ref>