The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah has been notified that we have until Sept. 6 to vacate the building that we have operated out of. The building was built specifically for animal care and humane education. Ogden City has generously allowed the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah use of the facility that we have called home for 12 years. Ogden’s city administration has initiated plans to demolish the building in order to put in a parking lot for the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park.
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. (Our facility is also the rehabilitation center for Park City wildlife and surrounding areas.) Our mission is to rehabilitate and release wildlife back into its natural habitat and educate our community. This area spans from Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada and into Utah County border
Since our inception in 2009, we have treated over 34,000 wildlife patients with the help of over 195,000 volunteer hours. 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 our patients. More than 91% of our donations go directly to animal care and treatment.
The timeline of 180 days from the notification that we have been given to relocate is unreasonable. Any move we make involves obtaining new funding to acquire a facility. 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.
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. Without this extension, we will be forced to shut our doors to new patients as we enter what is typically our busiest time of year. Seventy-nine percent of our patients arrive between April and September. Without this extension, we will be forced to close operation until we are able to locate a place to reopen our services.
Our commitment to Utah native wildlife and the public has never wavered, even now with the challenge of finding a new home. Your continued support will expedite our efforts to be able to accept patients again.
DaLyn Marthaler, executive director at Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah
Ogden