OGDEN, Utah April 10, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — The Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah is gearing up its campaign save the center on two fronts — fund-raising for a new or temporary facility and an extension of its September eviction deadline from Ogden City.
The center debuted an enhanced website this weekend and announced new measures of support on its Facebook page.
The website, wrcnu.org, now features an eviction ticker — 148 days and counting — a change.org petition link, a Venmo donor scanner icon, and links to six different stories published by news agencies since the rehab center’s plight went public.
Late last month the city gave the center a September 6 deadline to vacate its home of 12 years at 1490 Park Blvd. The city intends to demolish the rehab facility in order to expand the George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park next door.
The rehab center for injured wild birds and small animals is the only one of its kind in northern Utah and among only a handful in the state. It provides state and federal officials a treatment site for wildlife. The center counts over 34,000 wildlife “patients” since its 2009 inception.
The Facebook page, in addition to scores of people noting in the comments section their lobbying of the city, notes that the Two Men And A Truck movers business in Murray has volunteered to move the center for free and Patagonia SLC will forward the proceeds from its airing May 3 of the National Geographic film “Wild Life.” Donations are trickling in, with the page counting $350 from six people April 5 and another $275 from nine individuals April 8.
The center has been served notice it has until Sept. 6 to vacate its facility, a timeline it says is impossible to meet, and would require euthanizing rather than treating the regular stream of injured wildlife it takes in. In addition to funding for a new site, headaches include meeting local zoning regulations and specific state and federal regulations for wildlife facilities.
The center has been asking supporters to engage the city, politely, via the Mayor’s Office, mikecaldwell@ogdencity.com, (801).629-8111, or the City Council, through its Executive Director, Janene Eller-Smith, janeneeller@ogdencity.com.
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