The Gremel Wildlife Sanctuary, a Legacy Project of the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, will be dedicated on June 4, 2017. Purchased for its significant ecological value, the 395-acre sanctuary in Lee County provides habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals and offers opportunities for continued site-based research and education through a partnership with Augustana College.
The dedication will begin at 1:00 p.m. with presentations taking place at the Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve followed by guided trail hikes at the Gremel Wildlife Sanctuary. Driving directions to Amboy Marsh Nature Preserve are available on the sanctuary page or by calling the Society headquarters at 217.544.2473. The public is invited to attend.
The $2.1 million purchase was made possible through a land acquisition grant from the Illinois Clean Energy Community Foundation, long-time Illinois Audubon member Russell Gremel, and the Society’s land acquisition fund. Addressing his motivation for his donation, Gremel stated, “I hope that generations of young land stewards and bird enthusiasts will visit and enjoy the sanctuary.”
“We continue to be impressed with the thought and care that these dedicated volunteers and the staff of Illinois Audubon Society put into their work at nearby Amboy Marsh,” notes Dennis O’Brien, Executive Director of the Foundation. “It is clear that the Society takes the promise of permanent protection very seriously and the Foundation looks forward to a similar commitment to the care of the natural habitat at Gremel Wildlife Sanctuary.”
Thank You… any land acquisition for conservation is important to all as well as the future…. whether they know it or not…and Thank You to the volunteers who work preserving and protecting the land for all of us. It’s appreciated.
Thank God for people like Russ Gremel
Mr. Gremel you are a truly special soul. Thank you
Wow Russ, thank you.