A Conservation Legacy Honored

The story of the Rutherford Refuge begins with a gift. A gift of about 24 acres of land in rural Warren from a loving husband to his dear wife. John and Barbara Rutherford found an ad in the local newspaper in 1989 for a small tract of land along Clear Creek on East Twin Bridges Road. John, being the good husband that he was, promptly bought the land as a gift for Barbara.

"My parents saw something here," said Darcy Renkens, John and Barbara's daughter. "I think they realized what a gem this area was."

"Mom and Dad had been looking for a little natural area that they could work on and preserve...