Step up Now or Lose the Wildlife Shelter

The time is now to ensure that our community does not lose one of its best assets: West Sound Wildlife Shelter.

Yes, Now

Although the Shelter’s current lease with the Bloedel Reserve continues through 2016, it is making decisions now about where it will move. West Sound Executive Director Lisa Horn explained that the nonprofit organization intends to choose its next location at the start of the new year, in January or February of 2014. Why so soon? She said the nonprofit organization needs to select a new location and begin a capital campaign to raise funds to be able to make the move when the time comes. It expects to launch its capital campaign in mid-2014.

Why Does the Shelter Have to Move?

West Sound’s landlord, the Bloedel Reserve, has decided as part of its recently announced Master Plan to repurpose the 5-acre parcel the Shelter sits on.

Horn said the Shelter is looking at available land both on Bainbridge Island and in the rest of Kitsap County. Approximately 25 percent of the patients served at the Shelter come from Bainbridge Island, with the remaining 75 percent coming from the rest of Kitsap and beyond.

I asked Horn what prospects the Shelter has for a new location on Bainbridge, and she said so far nothing viable has materialized, though West Sound would very much like to remain here. That means that within the next couple of months the organization may well have to commit to moving off of Bainbridge Island, possibly a considerable distance away to a place where land is more affordable.

Problems with Potentially Moving Off of Bainbridge Island

For the Shelter a move off of Bainbridge threatens its connection with a significant number of its volunteers, which it relies heavily on every day. Of the 80 volunteers who serve the Shelter, 40 percent live on Bainbridge. With its current tiny full-time staff of four, losing trained, knowledgeable, and committed volunteers represents a major loss. Moving off of the Island also would potentially weaken the Shelter’s relationship with a crucial base of local financial support here, something it has relied on since it was founded 17 years ago.

As Western Puget Sound’s only wildlife hospital and education center, the Shelter is a gem that enriches our community and reflects our commitment to our beautiful land and wildlife. It is not a coincidence that this rare and invaluable resource is on Bainbridge Island. Bainbridge Islanders Gil and Jan Bailey started the vision of the Shelter in the late 1980s when they began caring for injured wildlife from their home here.

In 1993 changing state regulations required the Baileys to close their home-based shelter, but their vision lived on. With financial assistance from the estate of Prentice Bloedel, the Shelter opened in 1996 at its current home adjacent to Bloedel.

What Does West Sound Wildlife Need?

Land: Although it had intended to remain in its current location into the foreseeable future, now that it must move it ideally hopes to find 15-20 acres or more to accommodate the increasing number of sick and injured wildlife it treats and to expand its education services. Horn told me the organization also hopes to create facilities to care for larger species that are under increasing threat, including deer, bear, and wild cats, which its current location cannot accommodate.

Money: Horn noted that already in 2013 the Shelter has served more than 1,100 wild animals—more than it has ever served in a year. Financial contributions are even more essential as the organization faces its move and serves more wildlife in the future.

Volunteers: Volunteers are crucial to the day-to-day functioning of the Shelter and are always needed.

Want to help? Contact West Sound Wildlife Shelter at 206-855-9057.

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Photo by Julie Hall.