Nico Hauwert, Ph.D., is a hydrogeologist who has worked as a program manager for Austin Water, the City of Austin, and the Barton Springs / Edwards Aquifer Conservation District. In those positions, he has extensively studied groundwater flows, geochemistry, cave configurations, and other features of central Texas karst that have figured large in the protection of the Barton Springs salamander and other rare creatures, such as the Austin blind salamander, Tooth Cave spider, Tooth Cave ground beetle, Bone Cave harvestman, etc.