Stark Parks Wildlife Conservation Center aims to educate, conserve and rehabilitate the community

Stark Park Wildlife Conservation Center’s goal is to educate, rehabilitate and conserve the animals that frequent this area.  From cardinals to red foxes to opossums, the center helps any animal who comes in.

Since 1982, when Pitt Sanders donated a whole building filled with mounts from his hunting experience, the center has strived to educate people about the animals who live right in our backyards. 

The original idea was for the center to be education-based. However, when someone brought in an injured baby squirrel, they decided that they needed to help in any way they could.

Stephon Echague, the wildlife care supervisor for the center, strives to provide the best care she can give to these animals.

“We take in orphaned, injured or sick animals that need help,” said Echague.  “We will raise them, fix wounds or injuries and release them back into the wild.”

Typically, when an animal enters the center, they will stay for approximately 6 to 8 weeks.  However, it also will depend on the severity of its injuries and the amount of physical therapy it will need.

The animals who are deemed not fit to reenter the wild are made apart of the center’s educational team. 

“In educating people, it allows them to know for future reference, what to do when they see wildlife in their backyard,” Echague said.  “It gets people to be more comfortable.”

However, the center is only a rehabilitation facility and not a rescue facility, so they rely on civilians to bring in the animals.  Which is why Echague believes education is even more important.

Despite the limitations, the conservation center is receiving plenty of animals, which Echague couldn’t be happier about.  She is glad that the center is on the map of many people in the area and that they know to bring them there for help.

“I think that is has to do with the new building, but also with the fact that more people are running into animals who need help,” she said.  “I would say we increased by a good 50 to 100 animals per month.”

Another thing that helps the center help a broad range of animals is their category.  They are recognized as a category two facility, which means they can handle most native wildlife. If they were to be viewed as a category one facility, they would only be able to help specific breeds of healthy infant animals, which would dwindle their effect on the community drastically.

One of the most common animals to arrive at the center is birds.  Linda Watkins, who is one of the wildlife rehabilitation assistants for the center, deals with the majority of the birds who enter the center.

“We get a lot of American robins or mallards, young mallards at this time of year when they’re hatching and people find them,” said Watkins.  “If you’re going to find it in your backyard, you can probably find it here.”

With the increase in patients arriving at the center, it is up to Kenny Willaman, an administrative assistant for the center, to educate the civilians on how to properly care for the animals they come across.

The first thing they say is that if you can reunite the animal with its mother, that is the best option.

“It’s really about educating people,” said Willaman.  “The biggest thing is making sure they aren’t taken out of mother’s care, especially if they want them to survive, that is the best possible chance they have.”