Building a History at Acacia Ranch
It wasn’t inheriting family land that brought her into conservation, but starting something new for her children and grandchildren.
Nancy on the trail they made down to Perch Creek and Dead Man's Creek.
Nancy Powell Moore has long known that a busy life makes connection to nature all the more necessary. “I needed that connection to do everything else,” she says. “That revival was key to everything else happening.”
Though she moved to Houston after graduating from the University of Texas, Nancy would often return to visit a friend whose family owned property in Wimberley. Days spent in the Hill Country led to a dream of buying her own property. “I wanted to go sit in the water with my feet in and just read my book. So that’s what I did. I bought a spot, and that’s where I would revive.”
The 157-acre property is surrounded on three sides by water. “An oasis,” says Nancy. “An island, really.” And yet all around that island of hill country respite, she was watching the land get cut up into pieces. She knew she needed the right tools for preservation, but wasn’t sure how to get them. She first looked for help from the Nature Conservancy, but soon found her way to TLC. Nancy was hands-on from the start. “I met some of the leaders and also visited with some of the lands and people that owned them.” She was particularly interested in protecting wildlife. “We’re about the flora and fauna,” she says, “and people are part of that too!”
She has routinely sought guidance from friends in the stewardship community and recruited experts from Travis Audubon Society to survey birds and butterflies. They now conduct a breeding bird survey once a year.
Expert help, including TLC’s stewardship team, has been instrumental in achieving balance on the property. “I was caring for all of the wildlife, but my easement said ‘if the balance was off, we could cull’.” Her son-in-law has taught her three grandsons everything there is to know about hunting deer. “They do it all the way,” she says. “He teaches them how to butcher, make sausage, and all of that. And it was wonderful, because kids just didn’t have access to that type of thing.”
Nancy notes that her story may be different, as it wasn’t inheriting family land that brought her into conservation, but starting something new for her children and grandchildren. “In a way I was building a history for them,” says Nancy. “I worked to improve the land. I made it about the revival.”
That work of building a legacy is also about creating balance—the balance of the ecosystem she’s chosen to protect, as well as the balance of work and respite in Texas nature.
Celebrating 40 Years of Conservation
We have been collecting stories and photos from people that have made this organization what it is today, highlighting all the hard work, special moments, and conservation successes we have had over the last four decades. We have been sharing these throughout the year here: https://www.texaslandconservancy.org/40-years-of-conservation
As we move forward to the next 40 years, we hope you will continue to support this important work and help to create a future where being in nature won’t be a thing of the past.
Join or renew your TLC membership today—$40 for 40 years!