George Cofer, founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization Hill Country Conservancy, announced his retirement, which will be effective in April. The nonprofit organization located at 5524 Bee Caves Road, West Lake Hills, works to protect critical habitats, provide recreational access and promote conservation in the Greater Austin area, according to the organization’s website. Cofer, a lifelong conservationist and sixth-generation Austinite, founded the organization in 1999 and was instrumental in its growth over the past 20 years, according to a press release by the HCC. “When I helped found Hill Country Conservancy, I had high hopes for what we could accomplish as a community, but never did I imagine the immense impact we would have across the region,” Cofer said in the release. Under Cofer’s leadership the organization sourced over $50 million to support land conservation, water quality and publicly accessible trail projects, the release states. The HCC’s board of directors has contracted services from Scion Executive Search to aid in the effort of finding the group’s next CEO. 512-328-2481. www.hillcountryconservancy.org