California Council for wildlife Rehabilitators

June, 2010

Dear Wildlife Rehabilitator,

It also includes the inspiring story of an oiled California Brown Pelican that underwent rehabilitation more than 20 years ago. This pelican was recently found thriving on the Central California Coast, a great testament to the success and value of wildlife rehabilitation and a story that gives us hope for the animals now suffering from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Visit the CCWR website for links to the latest information about this unfolding disaster.

Apply for a Yosemite Symposium Scholarship!

Please download the application and mail it before July 15, 2010.

Symposium Scholarships Available

CCWR is accepting applications for scholarships to the 2010 symposium in Yosemite. Please download the application and mail it before July 15, 2010.

• Applicant must be a current CCWR member and not allow their membership to lapse prior to the symposium in November.
• The CCWR Scholarship Committee will consider the applicant’s involvement in wildlife rehabilitation and their financial situation.
• Submissions must be postmarked by July 15, 2010.
• Winners will be personally notified by August 15, 2010 and be listed in the Fall 2010 CCWR newsletter.

In gratitude and memory of Pat Winters

Former CCWR Board member Cathy Ortiz writes,

I can remember a time in the past when bats were never rehabilitated because of the perceived notion that bats were very dangerous. I, too, was frightened to handle bats at the time. Then along came Pat Winters! She dispelled these old myths.

Pat changed many California Rehabilitators’ beliefs through her wonderful educational presentations, and she wrote the Bat Rehabilitation Protocol that is in the Dept of Fish & Game’s Memorandum of Understanding. She went on to tackle the California Department of Public Health, the agricultural community, and worked closely with Cal Trans in helping them to design bat housing when they were taking down overpasses in the Sacramento area.

Many times she joined biologists during their research. She shared with me her experiences being in caves so dense with bats that she felt if she breathed in too hard she would suck one up. (She never did get a bat stuck in her wild curly hair back then!) Pat showed me pictures of the endangered California Spotted Bat that she photographed while in Yosemite with researchers. (That location is still kept a secret to protect these bats.)

Pat was one of a kind: articulate, witty, and she loved the movie Avatar! She truly was one of the few people who found her calling in life. I will miss you Pat. Thank you for sharing your life and leaving a piece of it with us and the bats you so cared for!

A memorial will be held for Pat Winters this Sunday, June 27, at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue from 12 noon to 4pm.

Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill response is a national effort coordinated with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc. Wildlife Rehabilitators need additional training beyond their professional animal care knowledge, since this situation involves oiled wildlife and hazardous materials.

USFWS and Tri-State have designated a Paraprofessional Coordinator (PPC) to compile a list and organize scheduling of potential responders providing the information requested below. Paraprofessionals located within the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Texas will have first preference in scheduling and will be scheduled for efforts located within their home state. All responders will be contacted by the PPC when their assistance is needed.

Those qualified wildlife rehabilitators in other states interested in helping this effort are asked to refer to the full information on the requirements in the USFWS press release.

CCWR Sixteenth Annual Symposium in Yosemite

Mark your calendar now for November 19-21, and plan to spend the weekend before Thanksgiving with your fellow wildlife rehabilitators. Look for a preliminary schedule on our website in the next few weeks.

Preliminary topics include fluid therapy and wound treatment labs, a refresher on wildlife laws, board roundtable, wildlife pharmacology and how to calculate drugs and dosages, creating and building a membership program, metal toxicity, and much more. Popular speakers Dr. Rebecca Duerr and Veronica Bowers will provide songbird lectures and labs on splinting and nutrition.

Directory updates

The membership committee will be working on our 2010 directory in the next few weeks. If you have not already done so, renew your membership now so you will be sure to receive yours.

If your contact information has changed, please let us know at info@ccwr.org.

It’s your network!

If you have listed classes or events, job opportunities, animal placements, volunteer opportunities or internships on the CCWR website, please check your listings now and let us know which have been filled. These postings are only as current as you keep them!

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We’re still the best deal going!

Thanks for everything you do for wildlife!
CCWR Board