Butch Smith is the Project Manager for the Violet Crown Trail at Hill Country Conservancy, guiding the development of one of the nation’s most ambitious urban-to-wildland trail systems—a planned 30-mile continuous route linking central Austin to the Texas Hill Country. With decades of experience translating complex landscape visions into built public treasures, Butch previously served 23 years as Senior Park Planner for the City of Austin, where he shaped trail master plans, greenway corridors, and signature parks that have become cornerstones of the city’s outdoor identity. Before that, he worked six years as an environmental specialist for the Bureau of Land Management in Colorado, honing expertise in natural resource protection and public-land stewardship. Butch holds a Master’s Degree in Park and Natural Resource Planning from Texas Tech University and a B.S. in Landscape Design and Construction from Mississippi State University. An Eagle Scout with a lifelong commitment to connecting people to the outdoors, he is widely respected for his ability to forge partnerships, navigate sensitive ecological terrains, and deliver multi-jurisdictional trail projects that balance recreation, conservation, and community benefit.