In May of 1998, Austin voters approved Proposition 2 on the ballot, which authorized $65 million in bonds to purchase 15,000 acres of land for the purposes of water quality protection for the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. For that reason the lands were first referred to as the "Prop 2 lands", though now they are called the Water Quality Protection Lands (WQPL). A second bond election in November of 1998, a third bond issue for open space acquisition in 2002, and subsequent federal grants enabled the purchase of additional land and conservation easements.

In 1999, the City of Austin initiated the creation of a Land Management Planning Group (LMPG), a public/private partnership that would develop a management plan to balance the need for protection of water quality and quantity, species preservation, outdoor recreation and multiple other compatible uses. The group was comprised of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, the Nature Conservancy of Texas, Creating Common Ground, Loomis Austin, American YouthWorks, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and Glenrose Engineering. The group made recommendations for land usage and stewardship based on public input and scientific studies, and then developed a recommended implementation plan referred to as the WQPL Management Plan.

In early 2000, the Austin Water Utility initiated a public participation process by which citizen groups would be able to make recommendations regarding public access on the WQPL. Questionnaires were sent to or solicited by 110 organizations and individuals as stakeholders in the WQPL, of which 55 replied. Over 90% of respondents were interested in participating in a public process to determine the best use of the City-owned WQPL and 70% were willing to contribute to the process and/or management. From this effort, a Stakeholder Steering Committee (SSC) was created as a forum sponsored by the Austin Water Utility for making recommendations to the Water and Wastewater Commission and City Council regarding public use of the WQPL.

The purpose of the SSC was to produce a consensus among stakeholder representatives of how best to use the Water Quality Protection Lands without compromising the initial mandate, as described in the bond election language. The commitment of the committee members was substantial. They attended numerous meetings over an 18-month period beginning in October 2000 and agreed to achieve consensus on recommendations. They also were asked to bring resources "to the table" that would facilitate the implementation of any recommended and approved uses.

The SSC created a matrix of activities and WQPL management units that summarize their recommendations for what level of public access should occur on particular properties. Consistent among the recommendations was to educate the community about these properties, specifically their unique function and sensitivity. To address the specific topic of education, an Educational Task Force was created in early 2001. Similar to the creation of the SSC, an invitation went out to community organizations and individuals with expertise in environmental education and outreach. This group produced an Education Plan for the WQPL as an attachment to the SSC recommendations.

In 2002, the WQPL program was combined with the BCP program transferred from the Parks and Recreation Department by action of the City Council, creating the Wildland Conservation Division. Today, the WQPL benefits not only from the sharing of equipment and expertise with its sister program the Balcones Canyonlands Preserve, but also from Division staff with skills in fire management, educational outreach and volunteer coordination that support both wildland programs.