The Audubon Riedel Nature Reserve has grown…again!
The Audubon Riedel Nature Reserve has grown in 2022 through an amazing heartfelt donation from the Colleen Herning estate. The land is close to the current Audubon Riedel Nature Reserve and connected by the main trail system which winds between Chena Hot Springs, Amanita and Esro Roads.
Colleen passed in January 2021 after a brave battle with breast cancer. Her estate has honored her vision and honored Arctic Audubon with the donation of eighty acres of her beautiful land. This gift stipulates that the undeveloped land is to remain in its natural state for the enjoyment by all people forever.
Colleen’s sisters, Nancy and Carol came to Arctic Audubon in Spring of 2021 to propose the addition of Colleen’s land to the Audubon Riedel Nature Reserve. This is what Colleen would have envisioned. Colleen grew up on the Herning Homestead adjacent to the Riedels and other local homesteads.
Colleen Herning. Photo provided by Herning family.
“She was raised on the family's 160-acre homestead on Chena Hot Springs Road. This area was undeveloped at the time of her birth, and Colleen thrived in this untamed environment. Whether hiking on the back forty, climbing mountains or backpacking in the wilderness, nothing held her back. She was a good steward of the land, enjoying its beauty while respecting its fragility and preserving it for the generations that would follow.”
The land is beautiful, large spruce and birch and aspen, boreal uplands on southwest facing hillside. Wildlife in the area includes most species representative of boreal forest systems. The main trail goes through her property and the adjacent FNSB land and then enters the Audubon Riedel Reserve. It is the same FNSB land that we have applied to lease for parking, access, and the trailhead. A celebration and dedication is planned for this summer around June 27th, Colleen’s birthday.
Arctic Audubon Society has owned the Audubon Riedel Nature Reserve since 1984. It is now 320 acres of undeveloped land near 5-Mile Chena Hot Springs Road. It began with the original 160-acre forested homestead gifted to Arctic Audubon Society by Elonore and Charles Riedel.
