Editing Williamson County, Texas (section)

===Endangered species===
Williamson County is home to five endangered species. Two are songbirds protected by the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve in [[Travis County, Texas|Travis]] and Williamson Counties. The other three are invertebrate species found only in Williamson County, which live in the cavelike fissures on the west side of the county. [[Karst topography]] is the name for the honeycomb-type limestone formations (including caves, sinkholes, and fissures) typical of the county's limestone geology west of Interstate 35. In the 1990s, a group of concerned landowners, individuals, and real-estate developers formed the Northern Edwards Aquifer Resource Council with the goal of obtaining a USFWS 10-A permit (known as an [[incidental take permit]]) for the county by identifying and preserving sufficiently many caves with endangered species to ensure survival of the species. These species would be preserved through voluntary donations of land rather than required setbacks, grants,<ref>{{cite news |title= Grant will help creepier residents. $2.35 million to save beetles, spiders and other endangered species| first=Jennifer| last=Barrios| page=A1 | date=September 30, 2004 | newspaper=[[Austin American-Statesman]]}}</ref> and other involuntary means typically enforced on landowners without an incidental take permit. The group transferred its successful work on an [[environmental impact statement]] to the county in 2002 and a county-wide 10-A permit was obtained in October 2008.<ref>{{cite news |title=Plan to protect species gets OK; U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service gives approval. |first=David |last=Doolittle |newspaper=Austin American-Statesman |date=October 23, 2008 }}</ref> Property owners are able to participate in the county's 10-A permit by applying through the WCCF.