Durango, Colorado Wild Food Educator Katrina Blair of Turtle Lake Refuge Passes Away, Leaving Her Loved Ones!!!

Katrina Blair, the founder of Turtle Lake Refuge and a deeply beloved figure in the Durango, Colorado community, has passed away. Her death, which appears to have been related to cancer, has sent waves of grief through the many lives she touched as a wild food educator, environmental advocate, and spiritual community builder.

Blair was not a household name in the conventional sense, but to those who knew her or encountered her work, she was transformative. She built Turtle Lake Refuge into a living testament to her belief that nature provides everything we need, from nourishment and medicine to healing and belonging.

Through the organization, she spent decades teaching people how to reconnect with the land, forage wild plants, and find meaning in the natural world around them.

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Her presence at the Durango Farmers Market was a fixture for years. The market released a statement calling her a longtime vendor, educator, advocate, and friend whose passion for local food and community touched countless lives.

They described her as a reminder that food is more than what we eat but a connection to place, to one another, and to the abundance that surrounds us.

A Life Lived Deeply in the Wild

Those who attended her talks remember her stories as much as her lessons. One community member recalled hearing Blair describe how she would hike alone to the Telluride Mushroom Festival, surviving entirely on wild foods she foraged along the way.

That single story, the person said, gave them a sense of bravery they had been searching for years. That was the quiet power Blair carried. She did not just teach foraging techniques. She modeled a way of being that was fearless, rooted, and free.

She was celebrated at the 2014 Telluride Mushroom Festival, where musicians played with her and for her, and her spirit inspired those around her to embrace a life more connected to the earth.

People described her as a dancer, a whisperer to plants and fungi, a spirit sister of the wild realms who made green drinks with thistles and dandelions and fed community with genuine joy.

Friends and colleagues are remembering Blair with an outpouring of grief and gratitude. Messages have flooded social media describing her as kind, playful, wild, and free. One friend wrote that she left a stunning legacy of love, compassion, and deep natural wisdom. Another described her as a soul alchemist of land healing and regeneration who awakened hope and light in all their hearts.

Alex Accetta, who learned of her passing while reflecting on National Cancer Survivors Day, called her a light of goodness in the world.

Katrina Blair leaves behind a community forever shaped by her teachings, her courage, and her love. Her legacy will continue to grow in every garden tended, every wild plant recognized, and every person who chooses to live more deeply in the natural world.