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OGDEN — Once Utah's largest wildlife rescue and rehabilitation facility, the Ogden-based Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah faces an uncertain future concerning the nonprofit's mission as a haven for local wildlife in need of a second chance at survival.
Since 2009, the wildlife rehab center has taken in upward of 4,000 animal patients every year at a former animal shelter at 1490 Park Boulevard leased by the city of Ogden on the condition that the nonprofit continued to look for property elsewhere.
However, as five, 10 and 13 years passed, with executive director DaLyn Marthaler making tens of thousands of dollars worth of renovations to the facility and enabling the rehabilitation of thousands of animals, Marthaler hoped that her nonprofit organization had found a permanent home — a hope shattered this year when she learned that organization's lease on the land will be irreversibly terminated on March 7.
The rehabilitation center has now gone from having 187 patients in June 2023 to only 35 patients as of this month, with Marthaler and her staff working in a mad rush to rehabilitate or relocate as many animals as possible to make sure that none of their patients face the risk of euthanization as the deadline looms closer.
Their desperation has grown to a fever pitch since learning in late January that there is now no chance that the center will be allowed to occupy the Park Boulevard property past the eviction date — plans to demolish the center's old home have already been put into motion, much to the heartache of Marthaler and the nonprofit's staff and volunteers.
In March 2023, Marthaler was informed that the temporary lease on the land to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah would be terminated to accommodate the expanding needs of Ogden's George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park — Marthaler was initially given 180 days to relocate to another facility, leaving her with the problem of rehabilitating 187 animals in that time, a task described by Marthaler as impossible.
After securing another property to run the nonprofit out of, Marthaler was able to secure an extension and forbearance on the rehab center's time to vacate that gave it until March 7 of this year to vacate the property.
Unfortunately, this meant that the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah had to suspend its intake of new animals last summer as it focused its resources on rehabilitating as many animals as it could before the eviction date and preparing a comparatively tiny 5,000-square-foot temporary facility located at 332 Washington Blvd. to be moved into following the March 7 deadline.
The run-down property, formerly a vacuum repair shop, is ill-prepared for the nonprofit's operational needs and was secured by the nonprofit, in part, as a means to securing the facility's first extension per the city of Ogden's conditions. Although the initial plan for the rehabilitation center was to move from the Park Boulevard facility to a better-equipped property that could serve as a permanent base of operations, the sub-par property that will host the temporary facility was the best option that the nonprofit could afford on such short notice.
Facing setback after setback as far as renovating the new facility, Marthaler has since nicknamed the temporary property "Pandora" for its continued ability to present her with problem after problem, largely stemming from the aging property's infrastructural issues and renovation needs. Between landscaping work, interior renovations and other costs related to fixing up the new property, Marthaler stated that she and her organization have already spent $50,000 and are expecting to spend more before the facility is properly prepared to have any of its equipment moved in.
"We're moving all of our equipment into storage and we have to transport all of our animals to other rehabilitators," said Marthaler, explaining the challenge of taking care of the animals in her care while simultaneously renovating the new property.
Marthaler explained that the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah will likely not be able to rehabilitate animals for an indeterminate time going forward, but will continue to act as a facility where citizens will be able to bring in injured or lost wildlife for immediate care and eventual relocation to a different wildlife rehabilitation center.
According to Marthaler, she was informed by a member of the Dinosaur Park's board of directors on Jan. 23 that demolition was already planned for the facility immediately following the March 7 eviction date.
A member of the Dinosaur Park's board of directors referred KSL to the city of Ogden for a statement because it involved matters regarding publicly owned land. Mike McBride, Ogden's marketing and communications manager, confirmed that utilities for the facility will be shut off on March 7 and that the process of demolishing the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah's former facility will officially begin following then.
"It felt like a punch in the gut," said Marthaler, explaining that she had hoped that the city of Ogden and the Dinosaur Park would be able to honor a clause in the forbearance agreement that would allow the organization to remain in the Park Boulevard property for $7,000 a month as a layover tenant if the nonprofit needed more time to prepare the temporary facility.
That hope was dashed after she learned about the Dinosaur Park's plans for demolishing the facility. "This whole situation has been impossible from the beginning, I can't fathom asking another established nonprofit to pick up with no notice, buy a building, move out within a year and have their operation running. It's just such a huge ask," she said.
Not being able to take extra time in the Park Boulevard facility means that the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah will go from being the largest wildlife rehabilitator in the state to no longer possessing the resources to rehabilitate animals at all.
Before closing its doors, the nonprofit was the only organization in Utah that had the resources necessary to rehabilitate and support meaningful numbers of aquatic animals like otters, beavers and waterfowl. Marthaler says that Second Chance Wildlife Rehabilitation in Carbonville, in Carbon County, has the resources to rehabilitate small amounts of waterfowl, but lacks the facilities to support the 500 or more waterfowl that the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah would typically receive every year.
"There is going to be a big hole," said Marthaler, highlighting how the absence of the wildlife rehab center will result in a significant negative impact on Utah's wildlife conservation efforts. "There will be no more aquatic mammals rehabbed in the state until we can purchase a new property and rebuild our facility."
There will be no more aquatic mammals rehabbed in the state until we can purchase a new property and rebuild our facility.
– Dalyn Marthaler, executive director of the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah
As to why the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah won't be allowed to pay rent to extend its occupation of the Park Boulevard property, McBride explained that Ogden is in the tricky situation of balancing the needs of two organizations and deciding how best to utilize the publicly owned land.
"It comes down to balancing the needs of two organizations and the Dinosaur Park also has needs," said McBride, explaining that the Dinosaur Park has had long-standing plans for expansion and that it isn't fair to the Dinosaur Park to continue to allow the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah to continue to occupy the space.
When asked about the proposition of allowing the wildlife center to continue its lease beyond March, McBride responded, "We can't just keep pushing back and pushing back because it creates a burden on the other organization, and we aren't willing to do that.".
Ogden has volunteered to help the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah by providing transportation and storage for equipment as it is taken out of the old facility.
"We want to make sure we salvage any pieces of equipment that could be reused in a new location before we begin demolition," added McBride, emphasizing how Ogden's city administration is doing everything it can to help with the nonprofit's relocation efforts.
Among the valuable pieces of equipment in the old facility that Ogden will salvage for the nonprofit's future use is a pool designed for beaver rehabilitation that cost the nonprofit $10,000 to install several years ago. McBride added that the city of Ogden desperately wants to see the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah go on to succeed despite this setback and is doing everything it can assist the nonprofit with the move, for which Marthaler has expressed gratitude toward Mayor Ben Nadolski.
The Ogden community has also stepped up to give a hand to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah, with donations continuing to flow in and Sherwin-Williams offering to cover the cost of the paint that will be used during the renovation. Marthaler says the center is looking for a local company that would be able to assist them with installing updated flooring at the new property.
The wildlife rehabilitation center continues to rely on generous donations from the community to continue working towards a future where it will be able to rehabilitate animals in need once again; those wishing to donate are invited to email savewrcnu@wrcnu.org for further details on how they can contribute.
"Our community has been so amazing, we'd be dead in the water without them," said Marthaler, referring to the support she's received from local businesses and citizens, as well as other wildlife rehabilitation facilities in Utah. "They're still giving to us and we're still fighting."
