The entrance to the preserve is a mile north of Bee Caves Road along the east side of Loop 360.

[1] In 1974 Janet Poage, a West Lake Hills resident and prominent environmentalist, was instrumental in negotiating a developments rights agreement between the City of Austin, Travis County, and Westview Development creating the preserve.

Other founders include Margaret Hessin, Lucille Stegman, Flora (Esther) McCormick, Florence Macklin, Martha Hudson, and Willa Mae Hardesty.

[1] Mrs. Poage along with Westview executive Beth Robertson, Mayor Carol McClellan and County Commissioner Ann Richards redrew the master plan of Westview's 1,300-acre Davenport Ranch residential development in order to set aside over 100 acres of the developer's land to protect the sensitive Hill Country environment including habitat for the endangered black-capped vireo and golden-cheeked warbler.

This transaction was one of the first transfers of development rights in the Austin area and created one of the more important environmental laboratories on the Edwards Plateau.