Climate Action
River Roots, Ruin, and the Road to Recovery
August 11, 2025
When the unexpected floodwaters of the Guadalupe River began rushing through Central Texas this July, starting on Independence Day through to July 7, their impact on me was closer to home than it was for most, as I was in there, in Tarrytown. What was clear was that these floods didn’t just create shocking imagery – they disrupted lives, destroyed memories, wrecked communities, and cost the lives of wildlife, pets, livestock, and worst of all, people.
My girlfriend, who lives just outside of Austin, learned that the summer camp she had spent her summers at since childhood — a place she loved dearly — was gone. The camp buildings were torn apart, the surrounding trees ripped from their roots, and the campfire ring where many memories had been made lay buried under sediment and debris. The only good news is that, at least in her camp, everyone made it out alive.
But she was not alone in this shared tragedy. Over 135 people died, and across the region, families were left shocked, displaced, with entire ecosystems gone in the wake of the waters.
This tragedy exemplified the dynamic and potentially deadly nature of the Guadalupe River Basin, where steep terrain, shallow soils, and fast flow contribute to intense flash flooding, but where we also know climate change has almost certainly played a key part in making these floods more intense.
Roots Uprooted & Systems Shaken
Floodwaters rose with unprecedented speed, reaching levels up to 30 feet in under an hour, wiping away the river’s banks. This rapid surge uprooted both mature and young trees and cleared away significant native vegetation; the very mechanism that normally stabilizes embankment soil and prevents erosion was itself washed away in an instant. As a result, vast areas of forest lining the river were lost, leaving exposed soil vulnerable to further degradation.
A report from the Edwards Plateau region found that the removal of approximately 60% of woodland vegetation will increase annual runoff by about 40 mm per year, which is especially alarming in central Texas’s steep, now flood-impacted terrain.
The wetlands adjacent to the river, which typically act as a natural sponge absorbing excess water, were simply overwhelmed and quickly became submerged. When these natural layers of protection are lost, communities and wildlife face a new set of challenges and a more vulnerable future.
Wildlife Caught in the Wake
The flood also severely damaged critical wildlife habitats, displacing or destroying populations of native species, such as the Guadalupe Bass, leaving areas of the river ecologically unrecognizable. The destruction included the loss of their spawning beds, destabilized microhabitats they need to feed in, and even altered the water quality due to the sediment and pollutant influx.
Wildlife rehabilitation centers across Central Texas reported that over 100 desperate animals were taken in – baby opossums, songbirds, foxes, and turtles – displaced, injured, or orphaned. Austin Wildlife Rescue reported that animals brought in after the floods were often soaked, disoriented, and needed immediate warming to prevent hypothermia. The animals that depend on low-lying vegetation or hollow trees for shelter were among the most exposed, and their habitats were left washed away or simply made uninhabitable by the floods.
Even as the floodwaters recede, the long-term danger persists, with the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, reporting that nearly 42% of U.S. wetlands have been physically altered, leaving them more vulnerable to habitat collapse.
These disrupted habitats become breeding grounds for invasive species, such as nutria, and lead to further degradation of native ecosystems. For example, before the Coastwide Nutria Control Program, nutria overgrazing damaged an estimated 102,585 acres of Louisiana marshland, stripping vegetation and exposing fragile soils to erosion and tidal scour.
Rooted Resilience in Riparian Forests
The floods were fueled by extreme rainfall, intensified by changing climate patterns, but also by the loss of natural vegetation and floodplain barriers due to human development. This limited the land’s ability to absorb and slow the rushing waters.
A study from the Texas Hill Country found that maintaining native riparian vegetation, which is river-side plant life that acts as a natural flow buffer, significantly decreases soil loss and sediment delivery during heavy rains, underscoring its key role in flood mitigation. That means that riverside vegetation can significantly reduce the impact of flooding. By failing to invest in these natural defenses, Texas is making local communities much more vulnerable and putting lives at risk.
Despite Texas identifying over $50 billion in flood control needs, Texas lawmakers have allocated just $1.4 billion — only a tiny percentage of what is needed — towards environmental restoration efforts. Why? What is worse is that rampant development continues along these sensitive floodplains, often replacing forested buffers that can protect people with concrete.
From Vision to Action in Flood Recovery
A coalition of environmental groups in Texas has begun pushing for statewide action with a focus on stronger watershed planning, stricter development in flood zones, and increased investment in ecological restoration.
These aren’t environmental asks; these are human asks.
They are public safety measures utilising how nature can mitigate the impacts of flooding. Studies show that for every $1 spent on ecosystem-based mitigation, it returns approximately $6 in avoided flood damages. Nature-based solutions could avoid billions in flood damages and have done in other parts of the U.S. For example, coastal wetlands spared over $625 million in losses during Hurricane Sandy, with salt marshes reducing annual flood losses by about 16% in New Jersey.
As Texas grows more vulnerable to extreme weather events, investing in natural infrastructure like this isn’t just smart policy – it’s a necessity.
While communities have started to rebuild their lives, their homes, replace infrastructure, replant fields and trees, and provide support to the overwhelmed wildlife centers. Locals know that even small actions can reap rewards – after the catastrophic Memorial Day flooding back in 2015, 75 volunteers planted 200 native trees along River Road in Wimberley, Texas, using species selected by Texas A&M to restore riparian buffers and stabilize the soil. Now, volunteers from surrounding communities are replanting native saplings, reviving disturbed soils, and restabilizing embankments by hand. These small acts of stewardship show that healing the land can also unite and heal the community.
But these efforts alone cannot match the scale of the damage or the action needed. Only federal and state-level planning to build climate resilience can do that.
The Water Will Return – Communities Follow Suit
The Guadalupe River will continue to flow, and the next storm will come, but what it destroys and what it carries away depends on the steps we take now towards rebuilding. If we choose to replant, restore, and respect the systems that quietly protect us, we can shape a future where rivers naturally recover, rather than leaving harm in their wake.
We can begin by supporting reforestation efforts, such as Earth Day’s Canopy Tree Project, which helps plant millions of trees around the world. And tell our elected leaders that we need them to stop playing politics with climate change – it is real.
Right now, the man leading the EPA, the agency designed to protect us from devastating floods, pollution, environmental degradation, wildfires, and take action to mitigate climate change, Lee Zeldin, is recklessly claiming climate change is essentially not that bad; He is actively trying to undermine the power of his own department to protect us. Tell Congress we expect them to protect and keep the EPA strong here. Demand that Administrator Zeldin abandon this reckless plan here and tell President Trump that our children deserve better here.
It’s time to make our voices heard and remind our elected leaders why Earth Day and this movement still matter. Help us fight. Send the letters.
This article is available for republishing on your website, newsletter, magazine, newspaper, or blog. The accompanying imagery is also cleared for use. Please ensure that the author’s name and their affiliation with EARTHDAY.ORG are credited. Kindly inform us if you republish so we can acknowledge, tag, or repost your content. You may notify us via email at [email protected] or [email protected]. Want more articles? Follow us on substack.
