Rainbow Valley Conservation Area
Residents of Rainbow Valley Conservation Area and Dr. Carly Aulicky from Native Prairies Association of Texas on “Medicine Hill”. // Amber Arseneaux
Rainbow Valley Conservation Area is a beautiful swath of wild woodlands and prairie in Denton County. The 75-acre property is permanently protected by TLC with the surrounding homeowners who make up the Rainbow Valley Agricultural Co-op.
As a resident and longtime outdoor enthusiast, Jerry Langley believes his community’s fate is tied to the wildlife. “If the wildlife thrive, we thrive,” he says. “If they go down, we are outta here.” He loves living in a place where folks are always working to improve the habitat they share with Texas nature. And the landscape inspires on a daily basis. “It’s wild!” he says. “When I moved out here, I was conscious of needing to live in a wild place. I needed to be in nature.”
The Rainbow Valley community is incredibly resilient and resourceful. “Everybody out here built their own house and dug the well,” says Jerry, whose own upbringing in a military family has exposed him to life in places all over the world. He recalls, in particular, his family’s time in Germany. “They have a zeal for guarding their forests,” he says. There he lived without television and enjoyed an imaginative childhood of tree forts and roaming the forest, perhaps an early indicator of what he would seek out in retirement—a truly wild place to wander, and one worth fiercely protecting.
Jerry remembers TLC founder Ned Fritz coming to visit the property in 2005. “He was something else, that guy.” The community knew they needed to fight back development but couldn’t do it alone. With TLC’s help, Jerry believed they had a shot at protecting the wildlife at the very least. He never imagined they would protect all 75 acres.
Recently, Jerry was hiking the property with a friend and actually got lost. This pleased Jerry immensely. “I’ve been out here for 35 years, and I was able to get lost on my own property,” he says. “I have to carry a map and a compass when I go out there. I’m not scatterbrained, but it is so incredibly wild.” That ingenuity and resourcefulness, along with the willingness to get a little lost in a vast, protected habitat, is part of the very fabric that has made this a wonderful place to settle. “We have a good retirement and a good wildlife preserve,” says Jerry. “We’ve gotten to watch everyone be brave at times.” It takes bravery to stand up to development, protect Texas nature, and seek help from the local land trust community to get it done, proving even a quiet retirement can be wild.
Resident walks the beautiful remnant prairie in the center of the community. // Amber Arseneaux
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!