Logan Canyon Nature Center Development:
“I ‘blame’ it on Jack Greene, who had the bright idea to start a nature center, based on his experiences at the Ogden Nature Center and the Teton Science School. In the mid-1990s he heard that the building built by the local VFW Post near the mouth of Logan Canyon in the 1920s and expanded in the 1950s had been given to the Boy Scouts, but it no longer fit the Scouting programs and they were interested in giving it up.

The building was a wreck. There were holes in the ceiling, fires had been built on the linoleum floor, nearly all the windows were broken, and the plumbing didn’t work. It was historic, and the Forest Service simply wanted a responsible new occupant.

[Bridgerland] Audubon had some cash—mostly donated by Allen and Alice Stokes—and was interested in promoting nature, of course, but the Forest Service had doubts about whether we were stable enough. The First Presbyterian Church was well established and interested in a retreat site but had no funding. So, Jack developed a business plan, pro forma financial statements, and an initial board of directors and off we went to ask for a special use permit to operate a nature center….”

–Bryan Dixon, Recognizing the 25th Anniversary of the Stokes Nature Center Annual Banquet of the Bridgerland Audubon Society, The Vineyards at Mt. Naomi Farms, September 21, 2022

Naming of the Logan Canyon Nature Center for Allen & Alice Stokes:
Finally, we got up the nerve to ask Allen if we could name it after them—after all, they were Quakers and not all that keen on fame. We suggested “The Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon.” “No,” Allen said, somewhat putting me back on my heels, “but you may call it the Alice and Allen Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon. I’m sure I smiled inside, this being just one more example of Allen’s thoughtfulness, but Alice had the last word, you see, because Allen died before we could finish it that summer of 1997 and Alice told us that, yes, we may use the Stokes name, but only if it is “Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center.” — Bryan Dixon

Bryan Dixon, Recognizing the 25th Anniversary of the Stokes Nature Center Annual Banquet of the Bridgerland Audubon Society, The Vineyards at Mt. Naomi Farms, September 21, 2022, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/our-projects/stokes-nature-center/stokes-nature-center-history/

Bryan Dixon, The Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center in Logan Canyon–The Beginnings, January, 2000, https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/dixon.bryan_.SNCBeginnings-AHistory.1998.pdf

Strand, Holly, The Stokes Legacy, Wild About Utah, March 31, 2009, https://wildaboututah.org/the-stokes-legacy/

Shughart, Hilary, 25th Anniversary Nutshell History of the Founding of the Stokes Nature Center, Wild About Utah, November 7, 2022, https://wildaboututah.org/25th-anniversary-nutshell-history-founding-stokes-nature-center/

Links of Note:
Allen and Alice Stokes Nature Center
Bridgerland Audubon Society
First Presbyterian Church of Logan

Exploring the Legacy of Leopold’s Students: Allen Stokes – The Aldo Leopold Foundation
https://www.aldoleopold.org/post/exploring-legacy-leopolds-students-remembering-alan-stokes/

Jones, Brittny Goodsell, A life in full, The Herald Journal, Apr 3, 2009 https://www.hjnews.com/news/a-life-in-full/article_6dcd0e60-920f-531b-a254-94ddaafbc251.html

Death: Allen Woodruff Stokes, Deseret News, Jul 31, 1996, https://www.deseret.com/1996/7/31/19257389/death-allen-woodruff-stokes

Alice Stokes Obituary
https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/hjnews/name/alice-stokes-obituary?pid=125306673

In recognition of his devotion, Bridgerland Audubon Society has awarded the Allen W. Stokes Conservation Award since 1976:
“The Allen W. Stokes Conservation Award is given each year to an individual who has had a profound effect on environmental conservation and who has catalyzed others to help protect our environment.” https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/about-us/bridgerland-audubon-annual-meeting/conservation-awards/

Allen also helped found the Utah Audubon Council in 1985:
Bridgerland Audubon: https://bridgerlandaudubon.org/our-projects/utah-audubon-council/

Stokes Nature Center Re-opens Visitor’s Center After Restoration
https://www.upr.org/utah-news/2021-04-21/stokes-nature-center-re-opens-visitors-center-after-restoration

Greene, Jack, Nature Centers, Wild About Utah, April 17, 2023, https://wildaboututah.org/nature-centers/