Ann is an Evergreen native with deep roots in the community. Her grandparents, Willard and Mary Helen Crain, moved here in 1947 and settled on Evergreen Hill. They operated businesses, were early editors and writers for the Canyon Courier, and were among the original members of several organizations, most notable The Evergreen Naturalists, now Evergreen Audubon. Ann’s parents met at CU Boulder, married and settled in Evergreen, in a house on the Lake.

Ann and her siblings grew up with Evergreen Lake as their front yard. One of Anne’s earliest memories is falling in the lake while she was looking at a bug near the shoreline. Ann went to college in Puebla, Mexico, where she met her husband Ed. They married and, after a stint in northern California, they returned to Evergreen in 1991. Ann and Ed have 3 grandaughters, one in Montana, and two who are growing up in Ann’s childhood home on Evergreen Lake. Ann happily reports that Evergreen Nature Center is one of the girls’ favorite places.

Ann feels lucky to have grown up in Evergreen, on the lake. “I have always been interested and active in conservation. I remember starting roadside litter clean-up as a Brownie Scout,” an activity that Evergreen Audubon continues today as sponsors of a two-mile stretch of Highway 73. Ann credits living in California during several drought years for her dedication to conservation. Recently, she has become more interested in birding, a challenge that she is enjoying immensely.

Ann first became interested in Evergreen Audubon through her love of the historic warming hut, where she spent countless hours in her youth. She was gratified to see the building restored with the use of gaming funds, as she was employed in the gaming industry in Central City for more than 25 years and says, “It is important to use a building if you want it to be preserved and Evergreen Nature Center is a wonderful use for a building built by the Conservation Corps in the 1930s to bring people closer to nature.”
“Being part of the Evergreen Audubon is a pleasure. The organization’s accomplishments over more than 50 years are a source of community and personal pride. I am honored to work with incredibly talented people, bringing my skills to the table and learning so much from our members at the same time. I believe the mission to foster contagious enthusiasm and love for nature is the first step toward becoming a proactive caretaker of our most precious resources.”