Wildlife Refuges Are Threatened By Lack Of Cash -- Area's Animal- Rehabilitation Clinics Dependent Upon Donations For Survival

Athena and Stargazer will never soar again.

The great-horned owl lost half of a wing from a bullet. Her mate, Stargazer, was hit by a car in Monroe.

They are among the injured birds perched on branches in cages at the Sarvey Regional Wildlife Care Center near Arlington.

Although the birds will never fly again, their presence teaches visitors the consequences of human encroachment on wildlife territory.

But those educational tools might not be around much longer. Wildlife-rehabilitation centers throughout Snohomish County, which are funded by donations, need the public's help.

Kaye Baxter, director of the nonprofit Sarvey center, which is on Baxter's property outside Arlington, said she has seen a 10 to 15 percent decrease in donations over the past three months. It costs $40,000 a year to keep the center open.

"If this is ongoing, we will shut our doors," she said.

If the center closes, animals that can't be released, such as Athena and Stargazer, will have to be euthanized, Baxter said.

Rehabilitation centers, which act as hospitals for injured animals such as songbirds, raccoons, opossums and skunks, usually release the wildlife if they can survive on their own after treatment.

Most nonprofit centers rely on volunteers and receive free veterinarian services but are responsible for animal food and medicine, utilities and other costs, said Sue Murphy, executive director of Pilchuck Valley Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Snohomish.

She said the centers depend solely on the public's generosity because state laws prohibit the centers from receiving grants for treating wildlife that have come into contact with humans.

It cost the Pilchuck center $11,500 to rehabilitate 176 animals last year. Murphy said the center was short $2,500, and the remainder was paid by her and her husband, Mike Murphy.

The center has treated up to 441 animals in one year, and this year the center has been limited to helping 150 animals because donations have dropped, she said.

The Murphys are paying $200 to $300 out of their pockets each month, Sue Murphy said. They are $10,000 in the hole and are not taking any new animals.

Since the summer of 1994, the center has been referring injured wildlife to other rehabilitation centers. Animals are usually brought in by residents, police departments and the State Patrol.

"It's tough times right now," Sue Murphy said. "People are not willing to donate because their needs are great."

And times are harder for the Murphys because Mike Murphy is a Machinist on strike against The Boeing Co.

But once the word gets out about the centers' financial needs, people often donate, said Michael Ellis, director of the Olympic Wildlife Rescue Center in McCleary, Grays Harbor County.

"At this point . . . we're probably $3,000 to $4,000 short of what it takes to run this place, which is true almost every year," he said. "Then we get out there and beat the bushes and try to inform the public what an important service we provide. Invariably, a number of people step forward and pull us from the hole."

Ironically, the success of wildlife centers in treating injured wildlife may be contributing to their financial problems.

More people bring in injured animals to receive help as word spreads of the centers' work, said Craig Brestrup, director of the Progressive Animal Welfare Society, which operates the Help Our Wildlife center in Lynnwood.

"I worry down the road if it keeps increasing, how we will keep up with it," Brestrup said. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Where to send donations

Pilchuck Valley Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, P.O. Box 1824, Snohomish, WA 98291.

Sarvey Regional Wildlife Care Center, P.O. Box 2083, Everett, WA 98203.

Olympic Wildlife Rescue, 1393 Mox Chehalis Road, McCleary, WA 98557.

HOWL or PAWS: P.O. Box 1037, Lynnwood, WA 98046.