We have been given a surprise that we did not see coming.\u00a0 We have been notified that we have until September 6, 2023 to vacate the Carol Conroy Browning Animal Shelter, which was built specifically for animal care and humane education. Ogden City has generously allowed Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah (WRCNU) use of the facility that we have called home for 12 years. Ogden City Administration has initiated plans to demolish the building in order to expand George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park.<\/em><\/p>\n We are the only licensed wildlife rehabilitation center in Northern Utah and the largest center of our kind in the state. We provide people throughout the region with a place to bring sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife in need of aid.\u00a0 Our mission is to rehabilitate and release wildlife back into its natural habitat and educate our community.<\/em><\/p>\n Since our inception in 2009, we have treated over 34,000 wildlife patients with the help of 195,050 volunteer hours.\u00a0 We receive no State or Federal funding for any of our work and rely solely on community support and donations to treat and care for all of our patients. More than 91% of our donations go directly to animal care and treatment.<\/em><\/p>\n The timeline that we have been given to relocate is unreasonable. Any move we make involves obtaining new funding to acquire a facility. In order for us to provide care for wildlife, this property must meet local zoning regulations and specific State and Federal guidelines. Without the services of WRCNU, thousands of patients will have to be euthanized and future patients, with no place to go, will be left to suffer and die.<\/em><\/p>\n We call upon Ogden City officials to consider extending our timeline so we can create an exit strategy that will allow us to keep our doors open. We need this extension by April 30, 2023 or we will be forced to shut our doors to new patients as we enter into what is typically our busiest time of year. Seventy-nine percent (79%) of our patients arrive between April and September.<\/em><\/p>\n Our commitment to Utah native wildlife and the public has never wavered, even now with the challenge of finding a new home. We would appreciate prospects on potential facilities and\/or property that we can consider as a short-term solution. This temporary facility will help to give us time to kick off a capital campaign for a new and better facility we can call our own.<\/em><\/p>\n We are not giving up on our mission, will you JOIN us?<\/em><\/p>\n For suggestions and inquiries, please contact us by email at savewrcnu@wrcnu.org<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n To get the latest updates on this ongoing journey that we are on…<\/strong>you can follow us on Facebook,<\/a><\/span><\/span> or if this was forwarded to you, join our E-newsletter<\/a><\/span><\/span> by leaving your name and email.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The loss of WRCNU would be devastating for wildlife in northern Utah. This is the fledgling Short-eared Owl I cut out of barbed wire in Box Elder County. He was delivered to WRCNU where he was rehabbed for months before it was eventually determined that he couldn’t be released back into the wild so he now lives a pampered life as an education bird for HawkWatch International. They call him Galileo.<\/p>\n Whenever possible WRCNU releases their patients back into the wild. Over the years many thousands of birds and mammals have been returned to the wild by WRCNU. That will all end unless WRCNU can be saved, which would require Ogden city officials to reconsider the timing of their deadline which would allow WRCNU sufficient time to develop an exit strategy that would allow them to relocate and survive.<\/p>\n The purpose of today’s edition of Feathered Photography is to request support for WRCNU from my readers. That support could be provided in the following ways:<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/galileo-hanging-from-fence-5974-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"galileo-hanging-from-fence-5974-ron-dudley\\"")
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