A motionless white barn owl lies huddled in the corner of a metal incubator, slouched into its wings. Its eyes are hidden behind slits, casting an eery pall of either death or unnatural sleep. The grey-brown-breasted bird was found on the side of the railroad tracks and was hypothermic. On a good day, this stunning species would be plenty unhappy about its confinement — likely offering a shrieking hiss and twisting its head in circles as if it were possessed or about to explode.
But this unlucky bird has no choice. It will be kept in the incubator until its body temperature normalizes, which could take 12-24 hours. Vets will then shift the bird to a standard cage, and, shortly after, move to a larger flight pen where it will be monitored on how well it sees, hears, catches and eats live mice. Assuming the blood work is normal, the bird will then be released.
This medium-sized owl is a prime example of an animal that South Sound Critter Care near Maple Valley can effectively hold and treat, along with broken-legged geese, orphaned baby ducks and baby mammals.
What started in 2009 as a modestly sized nonprofit wild animal rehab shelter has slowly grown, nearing its maximum capacity of about 2,000 animals in a year.
Jan White, board president of the shelter and owner of the attached upstairs veterinary clinic, Sawyer Lake Veterinary Hospital, is tired of the limited capacity and doesn’t believe the current facility can handle what she believes could be an influx of animals in the near future.
“We’ve got to get the heck out of here,” she said.
White, who also owns a veterinary hospital in Renton, has developed a long-term plan that she believes will bolster the state’s rehab options and also benefit King County youth. Her proposal involves building a state-of-the-art wildlife rehabilitation center unlike any other in the state that will be supremely educational, fill a long unused parcel of city-owned land and create a space for animals as big as eagles and bear cubs to regain their health.
Now, all she needs is city officials to agree with her.
“We never really planned on being a big center,” White said. “Now we’ve changed our approach.”
FROM OVERFLOW TO OVERFLOWING
The public is heavily restricted from seeing what transpires inside the South Sound Critter Care facility. And that is on purpose.
“They are not pets,” White said. “They are wild animals that are sick or injured.”
The organization has no paid employees, but 165 volunteers, ages 16-70, worked a total of 15,552 hours in 2013, helping rehab the animals and clean the 1,800 square foot facility, plus an overflow area that is little more than a shed lined with cages. It relies heavily on donations and grant funding. The facility housed just over 1,900 animals in 2013 — 1,754 of them wild, and 150 that were classified as “other” — including 110 species of birds.
White said about 25 percent of the animals are from Covington, Maple Valley, Black Diamond, Kent and Renton. Another 25 percent come from Pierce County and the rest are from everywhere else.
“Sometimes the animals get here by accident,” White said. “Once we had a lizard from China that come in on a shipping container.”
South Sound often works collectively with other animal rescues around the state, including with Sarvey WildLife Center, which has Washington’s only wildlife ambulance service. Suzanne West, executive director of Sarvey, said her organization plans to spend less time with simple “animal pickup” calls for wildlife being held at the vet clinic in Auburn and southern King County and will focus more on animal rescues during potentially hazardous situations.
White fears that the slight change in service, along with the steady increase of animal intakes over the years, could enlarge the number of animal patients her center will see this summer. West disagrees with that assessment, saying she doesn’t foresee that matter having an impact on South Sound Critter Care’s numbers.
“Just because we might not be driving our ambulance to the Auburn area doesn’t mean we can’t take animals from her in a transfer situation,” she said.
Whether there is a patient increase at South Sound or not, White said there is most always trouble finding space for large animals over the summer.
“Even eagles have trouble finding spots in the summer,” White said. “And when the eagles have no place to go, you know other ‘lesser birds’ are waiting even longer.”
White gave a presentation to the Maple Valley Parks and Recreation Commission on Jan. 22, discussing, and showing plans for, her idea to transform the unused parcel of land at Henry’s Switch into a sanctuary of 50 outside enclosures that would be used to rehab animals. Henry’s Switch encompasses 14 acres of woods located adjacent to state Route 169 that extends from the power lines near the Sawyer Crest neighborhood to the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe rail line.
White said the chunk of property will allow for enclosures as big as 100 x 50 feet in order to handle large birds.
“Eagles need a really big pen,” White said. “You can’t put them in a ghetto all together.”
Other larger confines that handle mammals such as coyotes, deer, elk and bobcats would need sewer connections in the cages.
The space would also include an indoor nature education center that would feature wildlife education programs for community groups, as well as a feline adoption center. The space would also include living quarters for a college intern program that would host third or fourth-year college students from all over the world.
White hopes to either lease or purchase the land and says she is not looking for any city funding, as she believes private donors will assist in the cost. If not, she will back the venture herself.
“We will get the money,” she said. “It’s just getting the land use designation.”
ABOUT THE LAND
Maple Valley City Manager David Johnston said the Henry’s Switch park property was originally used as a switching station for a pair of intersecting railroads. The city purchased the land in 2001 after King County designated it a surplus property, according to Maple Valley Parks and Recreation Director Greg Brown. A covenant on the property requires that the land be used for public recreation and open space.
Since the city’s purchase, Brown recalls the site being considered for repurposing only three times — as small athletic fields, as a parking/drop off place for a rail line and as linkage for Summit Park.
While many other ideas are often floated by the public to Brown, he said White’s idea belongs in another category.
“If someone brings the resources themselves to do things, that tends to provide more of an opportunity than someone just saying, ‘hey I would like the city to do this,’” Brown said. “My guess is over the next few months it might be an interesting dialogue as to how far this gets moved along.”
Brown did not have an opinion on White’s proposal, saying he has not had enough time to look into the specifics. He said the commissioners voiced some interest, but the overall good of Maple Valley must be considered.
“There are lots of things and variables to think about,” he said.
As part of the Park Commission’s park plan update, which sets policies and goals for the next six years, the public provided feedback for what they would most like to see from the parks. Brown said there was no mention of hopes for any kind of animal sanctuary.
White plans to present her idea during the public comment portion of the Feb. 10 Maple Valley City Council meeting and hopes for public support on the project. White says the ideal situation is to negotiate an agreement this year and begin building in 2015, but sees this as more of a “five year plan.”
PROJECT SPECIFICS
The proposed community-based nature center would offer activities for children ages 7 and up, as well as family activities that focus on environmental conservation. The center would allow the public to participate in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of wildlife. Ideally, that would instill a love for nature and the conservation of resources, White said.
“Think on the level of the Seattle Science Center with a focus on nature,” White said in her written proposal to the parks commission.
White believes the sanctuary will bring tourists and animal-enthusiasts from around the Puget Sound area. She also hopes to build a walking trail around the sanctuary.
In 1985, White developed a rehabilitation center in Suisun, Calif., that involved purchasing more than 14 acres of marshland to develop a permanent site. Using that experience, plus knowing how the methods of operation have changed since then, she estimates the Henry’s Switch project to cost between $2-2.5 million.
Johnson said he’s heard only cursory talks about White’s proposal and that it won’t be discussed by the city council until it is brought forward by the parks commission.
“We just ask her to be patient,” Johnson said of White.
If you find an injured animal:
1. Check the Department of Wildlife website to locate the nearest licensed center. Many questions can be answered in the FAQ’s section. If the answer is not there, call the department and ask for assistance.
2. Only feed the animal if it is not possible to get it to a wildlife rehabilitator the day you find it. Force feeding water or liquid foods will likely get into their lungs and cause pneumonia. Most animals, even babies, can go overnight without food and still be salvageable. If you feel you must, offer Pedialyte in a bowl. Yes, it is better than water.
3. If you are holding an animal overnight, the garage is the wrong place. A quiet dark closet in the house is heated. Mild heat is good. Heating pads can become too warm if not monitored and can kill.
4. When people smile at people, it is a universal greeting and is reassuring. For wildlife, it is a menace. Showing one’s teeth is what predators do to their prey just before they kill them. Please, no grins. Loud noises, music or talking are not calming. When transporting wild animals, turn the radio down.
