the Broken Vase

 

The broken vase

 

Imagine in a land not so far away, there was a woman with the vision to merge what she loved with what is important. She willingly made the choice to listen to her calling and became both federal and state wildlife agency approved as a professional wildlife custodian. She recognized that within her soul she must sacrifice self in order to help those innocent beings which through no fault of their own have been traumatized. Since 2001, the American Heritage Wildlife Foundation founder has willingly sacrificed personal health, family, friends, and even simple activities which enrich life and create joy. The hope was that this society would see the need and join her in making this dream a reality.

Operating a nonprofit is the same as operating any type of business. Responsibilities include public relations, human resources, marketing, awareness, and fundraising with the extra pressure to do more with less. Pressure to offer more outreach and educational opportunities. Pressure to respond to EVERY need. The very life of a living being is dependent upon expeditious and appropriate responses. The information gleaned off the world wide web from perhaps less than credible sources should never be the only option for caring citizens. A do-it-yourself project should not be synonymous for the level of experience (and legal permission) required to accomplish the complicated task of successfully rehabilitating (not simply keep alive and raising) and returning to the wild any animal which is expected to survive long term.      

Wildlife rehabilitation is a traumatic field. When AHWF began 60 % of patients were human cause. Currently over 90 % of ALL patients admitted are due to HUMAN causes. We have an obligation to mitigate the damage we have caused to a native population which has been struggling maintain viable populations.   

Which is a primary reason why children are not allowed to get involved with the daily hands-on labor of animal care. No matter what the cognitive mind says trauma is an occupational hazard. There is fatigue. There is moral injury because the patients (rightfully so) hate you. There is chronic emotional stress. 80% of professionals leave after only 3 years! National surveys report a 19 % turnover rate of volunteers. The primary reason is because the workload is too great for so few people. Basically, one out of every five people will quit.  60 % of nonprofit leaders feel used up by the end of the work day. 100% of all NPO leaders polled has felt or feels burned out these past three years.

This community has demonstrated the absolute need for this unique nonprofit! For more than twenty years, every year, there has been an increase in the number of telephone calls from citizens seeking help for a wild animal or inquiring about human wild animal situations. No other agency fills the gap relating to this specialized niche. The early years average was 100 phone calls and not even 3 dozen admitted patient cases. Every year there has been an exponential outcry to do more. By 2014 the demand was too great for the handful of citizens who had been assisting. In 2015, the hiring of seasonal interns began. By 2019, more than 400 telephone calls were made to AHWF. Over 4,000 volunteer hours were recorded from a only a handful of volunteers who provided social media posts, downloadable informative pdf’s on the webpage, and over three dozen outreach events and activities, 6 additional were slated but not possible, and nearly 100 patient cases (an additional 30 could have been accepted had we the trained personnel to respond).

The past three years, we have been struggling to find balance. The pandemic really struck and even shook the foundation core of many. We need to find the reset button. We want to maintain the mission of AHWF. The mission to conserve the native wildlife through rehabilitation of the injured and orphaned local wildlife and community education. There has been the expectation the founder should work 18 – 20 hours each day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, as well as be present in multiple locations simultaneously is not sustainable nor realistic.  This Winter, the quote from the Dalai Lama resonated with the founder - “Never ruin your present for a past with no future.” 

JUST like a VFD (Volunteer Fire Department) cannot function and respond when emergency arises, neither can a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Imagine your shed is on fire. You need a team of experienced professionals. You place the call. ………..    No one answers the telephone. No one has signed up for training. No one has been willing to support community. This is not a ‘google-able’ activity. Your shed burns to the ground.

Just as society expects a response when a fire arises, there is also the expectation for ‘someone’ to rise to the challenge when a wild animal situation arises. A wild animal is a living being which deserves respect and to not be treated like a do-it-yourself project by an untrained citizen. A wild animal is not the same as a domestic pet. One tender heart cannot carry the burden of supporting an entire society in need.

 To keep giving despite depletion. To keep experiencing empathy repeatedly. The intensity of the level of suffering seen multiple times daily. To reflect that most do not care to see the signals. A highly empathetic sensitive person is highly feeling and needs time to recharge. Exhaustion cynicism as well as feelings of sadness, hopelessness, sleep disruption, lack of self-care, gastrointestinal issues, autoimmune disorders, physical ailments, disassociation from gatherings are symptoms of the disease Burnout. The term Burnout is a fairly new term which is defined as the process of prolonged stress, frustration, exhaustion of physical and emotional stress. Literally there is no glucose in the muscles. Distressing to all aspects of being: psychological, behavioral, social, and spiritual. We all understand the term five alarm fire to be descriptive of a devastating catastrophic event. Some experts have broken burnout into 12 different stages. Now imagine the psyche of a human being who is suffering from a 12-alarm fire. The process starts small with feelings to prove yourself, to keep working harder, to neglect self for the needs of others, to blame others, to focus on work more, to deny problems because of work. The burnout continues and there is withdrawal from family and friends, experiencing behavior changes, depersonalization of self, feeling empty, feeling lost and exhausted. Until a complete and comprehensive burnout occurs – a full burnout. There is a complete level of mental and physical collapse. This is a fire which has been burning for a long time and been ignored but the fire continued to consume everything. No spark of that person exists. The cure is a sabbatical. Sabbaticals provide an opportunity to manage professional burnout. Sabbaticals allow the sufferer to return to the rejuvenated mentally and physically and fully recovered from their moral injury, empathetic distress, and vicarious trauma disorders. Please understand the decision to rest is brutal. The sense of duty to the animals is what has driven the founder for over two decades just the same as her heart beat, but the focus and strength of conviction cannot sustain a weakened body, mind and spirit.

 

 

The outcry and demand has confirmed this region should have a qualified experienced professionally authorized wildlife rehabilitation facility. Currently during the busy ‘baby season’ it is not uncommon to receive 100 telephone calls each month from May through September. The level of financial support has been rising, thanks to kind hearted supporters who contribute both small and large amounts monthly as well as generous contributions being given at assorted fundraising events and for AHWF merchandise such as the children’s books, the book of memoirs, the online shopping programs and merchandise including clothing and mini-flashlights. Conversely however the human support has decreased these past few years. AHWF has been operating at a code black level. The demand is too great and the resources too few. These past several years we no sooner start the spring season only to refuse admittance of new patients within a few short weeks. This is heart breaking and soul crushing but if we were to accept every wild animal from every single telephone call, the result would not be successful releases.

We need people to give time and talent. A few years ago, AHWF wanted to expand our abilities. We wanted to enlarge the existing parcel to increase our educational outreach and we wanted to provide necessary rehabilitative care for orphaned black bear cubs. At that time, we had two land options plus the state wildlife agency commissioners willingness to approve a permit IF we could build the necessary enclosure(s). By the time we raised the money necessary, the company which was to build the enclosure had closed, the land owner was not in a position to allow building and the other land option was no longer available, plus the state wildlife commissioners changed their minds and refuse to issue any new game mammal permits.     

The saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’, so too does it take a community to support a society. American Heritage Wildlife Foundation is exclusively community supported. There are no federal, state or county funds supporting this mission. There are no paid staff responding to the calls, emails, social media and online promotions, event planning and coordination, membership and supporter updates, nature walk maintenance and trail guiding, library lecture presentations, grant writing, website revisions, writing blogs, acknowledging contributions, continuing education and networking with other professionals, as well as providing quality care for the patients. 

Your north Idaho community supported wildlife rehabilitator needs people willing to become trained in order to accomplish all the tasks necessary to keep Idaho wild. In order to accomplish this, we need your support on two fronts. We must have sufficient financial support, as well as staff available to guarantee public presence. Now is the time to connect with neighbors and friends; now is the time to come together and create a legacy for future generations. Now is the time to make the vision a reality and construct the first inland pacific northwest nature center.

Why is a Wildlife Rehabilitation / Nature Center facility is important. These organizations provide answers to general public questions, they dispel common myths and misinterpretations about wild animals and provide professional assistance within a specialized niche. Unique and rewarding adult volunteer opportunities are provided as well as guidance for preventative and humane solutions regarding human and wild animal conflict situations. Diverse educational opportunities teaching about the native neighbors (all the wild animals sharing the ecosystem) are also given. No other organization fills the gap between public and wild animal. Federal and State wildlife agencies enforce legal aspects. Domestic animal shelters have no experience with wild animals. Veterinary clinics provide medical services for domestic pets and livestock. Nature Centers also enable the general public a location to recreate outdoors in a safe natural environment with interpretive tools and face to face guidance.

Other communities across the nation have embraced the mission of their local wildlife rehabber. They saw the need and responded and after a few years of working together as a team built wild animal hospitals, rehabilitation infirmaries, large wild animal enclosures, and financial stability in such a capacity as to allow hiring paid staff members. This community has a few superheroes over the past two decades who supported to the best of their ability, sadly they are too few. If this community expects a professional organization to respond and provide professional services for wild animals in need, this community needs to get together and help mitigate the damage we all have caused. WE have a responsibility to participate and stand for what is good and right. As Katharine Hepburn so eloquently phrased “There is a lot of lead butt in the world.  You are a doer. You are a worker. You make yourself into someone who matters and you do this with your heart and your brain and your skin and your energy. You show up for others and your word is your bond. I am really tired of victims of ambition, particularly when there are people who need our help in serious times of peril.” Get the lead OUT! Join forces with AHWF and let us build a legacy together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

human caused casualties statistics

 

Wildlife species are continually being presented to veterinary clinics and rehabilitation centers throughout the United States, and it is important to determine the reasons in order to monitor the changing health status of the surrounding ecosystem (10), decrease the anthropogenic effect of habitat fragmentation and pathogen pollution (2,12–14), and investigate preemptive strategies for reducing the number of wildlife casualties. This large dataset provides a sample to explore causal trends for presentation and sheds light on some of the major anthropogenic threats to wildlife health. This study does not attempt to explain the origin or cause of all reasons for presentation, but rather focuses on human related causes of presentation. Approximately one-third of the cases examined were presented to the hospital because of either direct or indirect anthropogenic reasons. Direct interactions with humans (human-induced- trauma and hit-by-automobile categories) were less common than indirect interactions (dog and cat categories) in this population, but still made up 11% of the total cases. Pathogen pollution, noise pollution, and environmental pollution have also been shown to lead to wildlife morbidity and mortality (1,15–17), but this study provides an additional explanation that “predator pollution,” by means of introducing domestic cats and dogs to wildlife areas, may also be having a profound and damaging effect. Of all cases presented, approximately 20% were due to interactions with domestic pets, specifically cats (14% of all cases) and dogs (6% of all cases). By narrowing the interface between wild and urbanized areas, it is likely that human–wild animal encounters, whether direct or indirect, will increase and, based on the results of this study, these encounters frequently result in the detriment of the wild animals. The data provided in this study do not investigate or provide evidence for the role of environmental pollution, pesticide use, or other forms of habitat disruption, but it does lend itself to the needed discussion about the many factors contributing to the morbidity and mortality of native wildlife species. In order to establish long-term conservation, a variety of initiatives including responsible pet ownership and habitat modification should be considered. Community and veterinary-client education about the importance, as it relates to wildlife, of keeping domestic cats indoors and preventing domestic dogs from roaming outside unsupervised could lead to a reduction in the number of animals presented to wildlife facilities based on the findings of this study (18). Although pets other than dogs and cats were not identified as reasons for presentation in this study, exotic, invasive species can lead to wildlife morbidity and mortality in other regions. Providing educational materials to owners about the proper care of their exotic pets may decrease those introduced to the wild by intentional abandonment and therefore reduce interactions with native wildlife (19). Increasing canopy coverage and the shrub layer along urban parks and greenways has been suggested to increase crucial habitat areas for certain avian species and protect them from the negative pressures of urbanized areas (20). In addition, evidence supports certain habitat defragmentation projects, such as linear patches and biological corridors, as successful in increasing migratory ranges and establishing connectivity between wildlife (5,21,22). On a smaller scale, establishing larger wildlife-friendly areas by arranging neighborhood gardens adjacent to each other has also been proposed as a means to increase wildlife habitat in urbanized areas (23). By removing invasive predators, focusing efforts on the conservation of native habitats, and affording a level of protection along developed and undeveloped transition zones, the numbers of animals affected by direct and indirect interactions with humans might be decreased, therefore leading to decreased morbidity and mortality

 

Are you a radical?

 

ARE YOU A RADICAL?

 

What is your definition of radical? Do you think of the movie actor James Dean or perhaps 1980’s ‘surfer dudes’. The oxford dictionary states the word radical is relating to the fundamental nature of something. It is also advocating for social change, representing or supporting progressive policy. 

There is a coffee mug a friend showed me with the saying ‘sedate women seldom make history’. That can easily be applied to current times. Unless we are radical about saving the wild species and spaces of North Idaho we do not deserve to show sorrow for the loss. We should not have the audacity to act shocked when we humans are also adversely affected by the massive environmental changes which have taken place these past 100 years.  The human population has quadrupled in that time span and yet wild animal populations have declined disproportionally to levels of near extinction and other species vanished entirely.  

Yes there are developers altering habitats and creating homes for residents. Yes there are more people moving to Idaho and calling it home. Yes we are seeing declines in native animal species and rises in human wild animal conflicts. Is the answer to post a picket sign in your yard or type franticly on a keyboard in retaliation – NO! Nothing will change except your blood pressure.

Being a warrior can be defined not as one who brutally and blindly with malicious intent destroys any on the chosen path but rather a visionary who has hope for the future. Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without words and never stops at all (E. Dickenson)  

Warriors have experienced great hardship which is why they choose to be so gentle. They have felt the burn of the past and carried the weight of their world on their shoulders. The lamp of love has been subjected to hurricane winds of anger and torrential rains of sorrow. And yet, they rise with a pure energy which illuminates all those around. There is a blazing sun within their soul which shines a light upon the shadows and darkness which try to engulf them. The Teton Dakota Chief Sitting Bull said warriors are the ones who sacrifice self for the good of others. The task is to take care of the defenseless and those who cannot provide for themselves and above all the children which are the future of humanity. 

We borrow this land from our grandchildren. Be the radical who leaves nothing but a footprint and takes only photographs. Be honest, despite the illegal nature of taking bits of nature while hiking on public lands, how many have taken a plant or rock or even animal back home with them?  “I am just one person, it won’t be missed” right? WRONG! Every single alteration to any habitat has a ripple effect; please change your perspective. An excerpt from a short story may help the message linger longer. A girl went to a museum and took a small piece of bandage from a mummy which was on display. She thought nothing of the theft because it was after all only a small piece and there was so much remaining. That night she was visited from the mummy who plucked one hair from her head. The next night a different mummy appeared and took a single hair. The third night, again a different mummy appeared and took one hair. She realized that if this continued, she only had so many pieces before there would be nothing left. This was the exact act which she had performed at the museum. When we take from nature we are like that girl and the mummy.

In 1963 one of the most prominent wild animal parks in the world had an exhibit called “the most dangerous animal in the world” ………… what species do you think was on display? …………… it was a mirror! The most dangerous animal is the human animal. We humans vilify the wild animals with traits which are purely human. We imbue the worst characteristics of humans upon other living beings so that we may feel superior. We destroy habitat and turn a blind eye to the suffering we have caused but assuage our guilt by proclaiming the false statement ‘nature is cruel’ ‘let nature take its course’. 

Far too many view nature as a place to ‘wreck-reate’ or a place to exploit for sheer financial gain. It is imperative the lessons of cohabitation are shared freely. Leave the leaves in the autumn. Leave plant stalks and seedheads. Use no pesticide or lawn chemical. Mow less by planting native plants for year-round foraging. Reduce light pollution. Protest using poisons (aka herbicide, insecticide) on our foods.

Shift your perspective. What we do to our home and wild neighbors, so too we do to ourselves.  This planet is not ours to use up and appease our every want; this planet is merely on loan to us from our grandchildren so they may simply live with needs fulfilled.

The word radical is synonymous with fundamental, essential, deep rooted, extreme, far reaching. Are you a radical?

There is a coffee mug a friend showed me with the saying ‘sedate women seldom make history’. That can easily be applied to current times. Unless we are radical about saving the wild species and spaces of North Idaho we do not deserve to show sorrow for the loss.

Yes there are developers altering habitats and creating homes for residents. Yes there are more people moving to Idaho and calling it home. Yes we are seeing declines in native animal species and rises in human wild animal conflicts. Is the answer to post a picket sign in your yard or type franticly on a keyboard in retaliation – NO! Nothing will change except your blood pressure.

Being a warrior is about standing for and abiding by a cause. Being a visionary means there is hope for the future. Change the perspective from ‘make the best of today’ to ‘We borrow this land from our grandchildren’. See the habitat as a community where you are one small part instead of a society where you must be bold enough to dominate.   

Once upon a time the land spaces were filled with diversity of species. It is painfully clear, as more and more species are listed as endangered of being extinct or are now gone forever we must ALL become a radical to save what we love. The truth is, how we treat our home is a reflection of our destiny. What we have done to our native neighbors, so shall become of us.   

Granted Granite Gratitude

 

Be the Difference

 

The English language has assorted peculiarities one such example relates to the words Granite, Granted, Gratitude. Three very different words despite the difference of only a few letters.

Granite – noun. rock (solid, heavy)

Granted – adjective. approved, decided. / verb. given. acknowledged.

Gratitude – noun. thankfulness. gratefulness. appreciativeness.

The founder of the panhandles only licensed nonprofit organization working with native wild mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians has been the driving force. She has been the immovable object between certain death for hundreds of injured and orphaned wild animals.

When one person gives another something, it shows approval. The opposite occurs when someone is ‘taken for granted’. The removal of value and a general lack of empathy towards another living being.

Without this community American Heritage Wildlife Foundation would not have been able to keep Idaho wild. Thanks to the contributions of time, talent and treasure your local 501c3 has been operating for more than 20 years and without that support would have closed its doors years ago.

The difference between these similarly spelled words is only a letter or two. Granite to Granted is ‘ID’ and Gratitude is ‘U’.  YOU are why the injured and orphaned native nongame wild animals have a chance at being returned to their home territories. If you want AHWF to continue another twenty years we must have you involved today!

ID is the state we all call home. ID also is a psychology term referring to the oldest and most primitive instincts - pleasure. ID provides the drive for our actions, Superego the moral perfection and portion of personality stiving for balance between potentially opposing forces is the ego.   

Do you see your wild Idaho through the lens of ID? Do you see yourself as simply one piece of the Eco(system)?  We humans are in a place of power, let us forget and take our wild native spaces and species for granted. Let us remember Earth and Heart are spelled with the same letters. Let us reflect that we can all evolve and love each living being with a little repetition and patience.  Just as the word impossible declares everything is possible (A.Hepburn) so too does the word love. Palindromes are words identical forwards and backwards, now look closely at  the words LOVE and EVOLVE.  

Idaho was once full of wild animals. The wild spaces and species were plentiful. Then we humans discovered the beauty of the wild spaces and claimed them for our own private recreational area. Conflicts arise, injuries and orphans are created and the need increases for services which are provided by no other organization. Think ECO not EGO. Be a part of nature not apart from nature. Be aware of the wild animals around you. Hesitate before approaching any wild animal. Watch for signs of distress. Follow through by connecting with Idaho’s professionals found at AIR for Wildlife (Association of Idaho Rehabbers for Wildlife).

Treat the earth as if it is has been loaned to you by your grandchildren not given to you by your parents. (Lakota Chief Crazy Horse). There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice but there must never be a time when we fail to protest (E. Wiesel). The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (Plato). Merge what you love with what is important to you (M. Chapin Carpenter). Your community needs your help with contributions of time, talent and treasure. 

Human Nature

 

Human Nature

 

What is it about human nature that makes us polar opposites?  Take a moment, reflect on those around you. … Are all the people you know named Steve or Sharon generous people? Is every Kevin and Karen bold? Perhaps human nature cannot be confined to a name; perhaps human nature is in our core being. The Nature versus Nurture theory.  Is it freedom of choice or demand of ego?

 

What makes one person stop on a highway and pick up a turtle who was trying to cross the roadway and another person simply run over the top and crush this living being? What drives one person to commit time and money when they find a wild animal orphan in need? This person will drive hours and donate money (often funds which they have do not have) to ensure the necessary care required will be possible! What encourages one person to leap in and volunteer at charities and another repeat the mantra ‘I am too busy’.    

 

One person will see a nest of crows who have fallen and say ‘well its just nature’ and ignore the vocalizations. Another will say the same thing BUT they will watch for signs of distress. They will connect with professional agencies who can answer questions and guide through the next right step. One person will see a group of Striped Skunks and run away screaming and demanding killing or trapping to take them away (which is the same thing only more suffering involved). Another person will see the group and watch for normal signs of behavior. They will rejoice in the reality these animals dig up underground wasp nests and keep rodent populations in check. One person will ignore the guidelines suggested for the best times to allow their domestic cats outside (which is around mid-day) or ignore the recommendations to keep their dogs on leash when hiking. These people treat the wilderness as their own personal habitat to abuse and yet another will spend hours picking up litter including plastic water bottles, dog feces, candy bar wrappers etc. which is not their own. One person will view the wilds of North Idaho as their personal back yard and all the inhabitants should bow down to the desires. Each animal is to be dominated and made a ‘pet’.

 

A wildlife rehabilitator is a licensed experienced professional. These dedicated few choose to commit their lives to this calling. It is in their nature to nurture. Audrey Hepburn said eloquently that ‘hard work is never so hard as when it is done with love’. Most wildlife rehabilitators are volunteer based and solely community supported. What greater statement of love is there?

 

Keeping North Idaho WILD is a necessity. It is why we all live here. It is why we all love our lives here. Despite the hardships we can always step out our door and listen to the sounds of birds calling, see pine squirrels racing around the trees, find foot prints in the mud from the assorted native neighbors, and perhaps be fortunate enough to locate one of the handful of reptiles or amphibians tough enough to call North Idaho home.

 

The wild animals have survived for hundreds of years without human intervention. They have maintained that line of respect and fear. They do not need us to ‘help’ them survive. However, we humans have created such a rapidly changed environment these last 100 years the wild animals cannot adapt. We humans have not held dear that line of respect and fear.  Is it human nature to want to dominate and put ourselves first? Is it human nature to view oneself as part of a whole?

 

Every day wild animal rehabilitators see the traumas which are inflicted upon the patients. 90 percent of patients admitted for care are a direct result of humans. Some of these injuries are purely accidental and the rescuers are such tenderhearted people. The rehabilitator is meeting a kindred spirit. Some of these injuries are a direct act of cruelty or ignorance. These rescuers are lacking in awareness and education. The only way a rehabilitation facility is able to continue from one decade to the next is with strong community support and awareness. Please help American Heritage Wildlife Foundation continue into a third decade. Ask local humane societies to expand into a wildlife ward. Seek corporate sponsorship or commissioner support to build a facility which can be staffed. Collaborate with friends to create a wildlife paramedic ambulance service.

 

Wildlife Rehab is FUN

 

Wildlife Rehab is FUN

When people first hear there is such a profession as caring for the injured and orphaned native wild animals, usually the first word uttered is FUN. The reality of accepting responsibility for the wellbeing and very life of a living being is, in a word DAUNTING.

If providing necessary medical, behavioral, psychological, and emotional care were easy, state wildlife agencies would not require citizens to be licensed. The reality is rehabbers respond to the community of caring citizens when their cat brings in a songbird, when their dog uses a turtle as a chew toy or they witnessed a vehicle aim for and intentionally run over a wild animal. They also respond when the goose family group has been separated and youngsters are wandering the roadside, when a mother raccoon has been killed and her offspring were found under the shed days later, when the lawnmower ran over the nest of baby cottontail rabbits. These caring individuals have knowledge, training, experience and networks to guide them. This harsh reality is, in a word, CHALLENGING.

As a 501c3 nonprofit with the mission to also provide education and awareness on how to keep Idaho WILD, your local wildlife rehabilitation organization also offers programs and presentations. In years past: youth summer camp, guided nature walks, children’s’ books as well as anecdotal books for older readers, public booths, and outreach events. We have spoken on important topics such as cohabitation, healthy habitats and the value of each species. Interacting with our human neighbors has been ENJOYABLE.

Did you know that recent surveys report 90% of all wild animals admitted at rehab centers are there because of human causes. To be able to return an individual who through no fault of its own was traumatized back to the home territory is what this profession is all about. There is a saying amongst professional wildlife rehabbers – every animal which crosses the threshold has already been claimed by death. That animal has already had the hand of death lay hands upon it.

When we are able to stand between death and that patient and succeed, the word is RESTORATIVE.

Wildlife rehabilitation is not the same as raising a domestic animal. Domestics have been reliant upon humans for thousands of years. Food items are created for domestics not wild animals. Domestics want to be held and interact. A wild animal wants nothing to do with humans. The boundary is respected and there is no desire to cross it. A wildlife rehabilitator honors that aspect and using wisdom gained through more than reading one online article. The reality is a ‘tame’ wild animal is a ‘dead’ wild animal.  

Wildlife rehabilitation is a calling. Wildlife rehabilitation is a career without the salary. Wildlife rehabilitation is a public service to help the native neighbors. Wildlife rehabilitation is provided by no other entity than private citizens who accept the daunting challenges with a smile and enjoy restoring a small piece of nature one animal at a time.

Wildlife rehabilitators need public support to continue the vital missions. Without supportive society, a wildlife rehabilitator is EXTINCT.

 

Be the Difference!

 

Be the Difference

 

The English language has assorted peculiarities one such example relates to the words Granite, Granted, Gratitude. Three very different words despite the difference of only a few letters.

Granite – noun. rock (solid, heavy)

Granted – adjective. approved, decided. / verb. given. acknowledged.

Gratitude – noun. thankfulness. gratefulness. appreciativeness.

The founder of the panhandles only licensed nonprofit organization working with native wild mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians has been the driving force. She has been the immovable object between certain death for hundreds of injured and orphaned wild animals.

When one person gives another something, it shows approval. The opposite occurs when someone is ‘taken for granted’. There is a general lack of empathy towards another living being.

Without this community American Heritage Wildlife Foundation would not have been able to help keep Idaho wild. Thanks to the contributions of time, talent and treasure your local 501c3 has been operating for more than 20 years and without that support would have closed its doors years ago. These past several years the demand has become so great, the founder has felt as if she is being crushed by a boulder of granite.   

How has AHWF been able to operate? Only because of you. AHWF is community supported for every aspect of operations. What is the difference between granite and granted ‘ID’ and gratitude ‘U’.

YOU are why the injured and orphaned native nongame wild animals have a chance at being returned to their home territories. If you want AHWF to continue another twenty years we must have you!

ID is the state we all call home. The ID is also the primitive core essence of a person. It is one of three parts to the human psyche. The ID is the source determining what gives each being happiness. The Superego is the moral compass while the Ego attempts to balance the moral conscience with the primitive base desires. Do you view Idaho as a place to ‘wreck-reate’ or as a place where you are but one small part of a vast ecosystem?

When you are able to recognize Earth and Heart are spelled with the same letters you will begin to identify the importance of being a good neighbor. When you see that love is the solution, the evolution process begins. A word which is the same forwards and backwards is a palindrome. Look closely at the word Evolve. The instructions could not be any clearer. WE must evolve and love our native neighbors as ourselves, for what we do to them we do to ourselves. Real eyes realize real lies from agencies and organizations which say they support the environment. Pay attention, make a stand, shift your perspective to the mindset that we do not own this land, it is simply on loan to us from our grandchildren and all the wild neighbors.

Idaho was once full of wild animals. The wild spaces and species were plentiful. Then we humans discovered the beauty of the wild spaces and claimed them for our own.  The human population has quadrupled in 100 years. The wild animal populations have dramatically declined to levels of near extinction, imminent extinction or extinct in the last 50 years. We alone are responsible for their demise. We have taken nature for granted.

There are countless conflicts which arise, wild animal injuries and orphans are created and the need increases for services which are provided by no other organization. Think ECO not EGO. Be a part of nature not apart from nature. Be aware of the wild animals around you. Hesitate before approaching any wild animal. Watch for signs of distress. Follow through by connecting with Idaho’s professionals found at AIR for Wildlife (Association of Idaho Rehabbers for Wildlife).

IF you wish to get involved with creating the first nature center of the inland pacific northwest – which has been the vision since 2001, we need you to join with your friends and share this vital information. Make the changes to behaviors and demonstrate an attitude of gratitude for all the wild spaces and species. Gratitude is after all the key component of joy.