Since the EKJ Memorial Cabin Fund was established in June of 2022, the amount of feedback, interest, and support has been overwhelmingly positive. We received numerous extremely generous donations and a matching fund donation of $25,000 from an anonymous donor. Currently, we have raised $70,000!! The Friends of Eagle River Nature Center (FERNC) has also been extremely supportive by advertising about the cabin on their website and staff also wrote two grants to resulting in an additional $35,000 (Rasmusson Foundation $25,000, and MEA $10,000) In addition, the Nature Center’s annual fall fundraiser on October 29th was successful in raising an additional $18,000 in their “For the Cause” focus. All together, we are now at $123,000! To see information on their website about their efforts, go to https://www.ernc.org.
State Parks trail planner, Blaine Smith, has recently spent time out at the site with FERNC the Trails and Grounds Manager for FERNC, Michael Gus Gustafson, to identify the best route in to the cabin site and work on building that trail may begin very soon. In addition, plans for building the cabin next summer are beginning. We have a lot of fundraising still to do and price estimates for the cabin construction continue to change and increase, but we are very hopeful that we can raise the money by next spring.
We are incredibly grateful for all of the support and generous donations we have received to help make this cabin become a reality. We are getting there! Heartfelt thanks and we will try to keep everyone informed as this project moves forward. To donate specifically towards the cabin, you can go to: Memorial Cabin Fund.
Cabin design
Young Erin and her dad skiing up Eagle River near the proposed cabin site.
