Dear friends and supporters of Willowtail,

We need your help. Many of you are aware that through a series of sad and unexpected events, Peggy and Lee Cloy are required to leave their beloved Willowtail Springs, dissolve the nonprofit entity that has supported so many artists, and end the opportunity for others of us to stay as paying guests. Over the 35 years that Peggy and Lee have stewarded the land, hundreds of artists, writers, musicians, horticulturists, and scientists have had the incredible fortune of visiting, studying and creating in this beautiful place. Many more of us have had the opportunity to stay in the cabins to explore Willowtail and the surrounding beauty of the San Juan National Forest, Mesa Verde, and Durango. We have sought inspiration and solitude. We have come to experience a landscape and ecosystem that is balanced and diverse. We have shared this special place with the loves in our lives, to reintroduce ourselves to the vastness of nature, and we have come to heal. And over all those years, Peggy and Lee have worked consistently and tirelessly in the background to keep it all available, beautiful and welcoming. They have nurtured and sustained the trees, the pond, the wildlife and created spectacular gardens, including a sculpture garden open to the public – not to mention the charming cabins and the studio – so that those things could in turn sustain each and every visitor. We all thought it would go on forever this way, that it would always be there to greet and nurture us, but unfortunately, that time has come to an end.

It is now that we, who have benefited for so long from what they have created, have the opportunity to give back. Peggy and Lee have put their whole selves into this endeavor, literally everything they had, and now they are needing to restart their lives in a new place on very short notice. Now is the time that we can truly give to them as they have given to us, with a donation to help them rebuild their lives.

We would ask you to consider a gift to Peggy and Lee to help them get started on the next leg of their journey and resolve remaining financial obligations due to their investment in this magical place. We want to show our love and support for Peggy and Lee, and all that they have built shared with us for over 30 years.

Elizabeth Kinahan (artist) and Susan Marquis (guest and writer)

PS. Your donation is to Peggy and Lee Cloy and not to Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center, a CO non-profit entity which has dissolved and is winding-up its affairs. Except for fees charged by GoFundMe, all campaign funds will go to Peggy and Lee individually, to assist in their new start and addressing their financial obligations arising out of this unfortunate set of circumstances.