TRACKS FROM TURTLE RIDGE A nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to the preservation of the environment and peaceful coexistence with nature. Wildlife Am·bas·sa·dor noun A high ranking official representative of the animal kingdom. Sometimes even our best efforts aren’t enough and an injury is so severe the animal can never be released. These beautiful creatures are allowed to live out their lives with us at Turtle Ridge as a wildlife ambassador. Join us for Wildlife Warrior Weekend (details on page 7) to meet our special friends! Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center provides injured and orphaned, native wild animals a second chance at life. Veterinary Advisors Erica Lipanovich, DVM Janette Ackermann, DVM Richard Hillmer, DVM Don Howard, DVM ‘The Wildlife and Its Habitat Cannot Speak…So We Must and We will… Theodore Roosevelt Board of Directors Debbie Sasser-President Robyn Baty-Vice President Stephen Goins-Secretary Genevieve Sheridan- Member Francesca Morrison- Member Staff Directors Jessy Gill-Animal Care Director, Development Director, Center Manager Mary Bliss-Volunteer Executive Director Charles Harmansky- Johnson-Executive Assistant & Assistant Animal Care Director Advisory Board Brian Bliss Vickie Stiteler Fall – Winter 2016 Aztec, golden eagle, has only one wing Cawner, American crow Our Mascot, Optimus, Sulcata Tortoise Cheyenne, American Kestrel Griffin, Turkey Vulture, enjoying the rain
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TRACKS FROM
TURTLE RIDGE A nonprofit 501(c)(3) dedicated to the preservation of the environment and peaceful coexistence
with nature.
Wildlife Am·bas·sa·dor noun
A high ranking official representative of the
animal kingdom.
Sometimes even our best efforts aren’t enough
and an injury is so severe the animal can never be
released. These beautiful creatures are allowed to
live out their lives with us at Turtle Ridge as a
wildlife ambassador. Join us for Wildlife Warrior
Weekend (details on page 7) to meet our special
friends!
Turtle Ridge Wildlife
Center provides
injured and
orphaned, native
wild animals a
second chance at life.
Veterinary Advisors
Erica Lipanovich, DVM
Janette Ackermann, DVM
Richard Hillmer, DVM
Don Howard, DVM
‘The Wildlife and Its
Habitat Cannot
Speak…So We Must
and We will…
Theodore Roosevelt
Board of Directors
Debbie Sasser-President
Robyn Baty-Vice President
Stephen Goins-Secretary
Genevieve Sheridan-
Member
Francesca Morrison-
Member
Staff Directors
Jessy Gill-Animal Care
Director, Development
Director, Center Manager
Mary Bliss-Volunteer
Executive Director
Charles Harmansky-
Johnson-Executive Assistant
& Assistant Animal Care
Director
Advisory Board
Brian Bliss
Vickie Stiteler
Fall – Winter 2016
Aztec, golden eagle,
has only one wing
Cawner, American crow Our Mascot, Optimus,
Sulcata Tortoise
Cheyenne, American
Kestrel
Griffin, Turkey Vulture,
enjoying the rain
COMMENTS FROM MARY BLISS, VOLUNTEER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Listening to an interview
recently on NPR, I heard a
statement that really made an
impact. The interviewee
referenced a line from the film
“The Untouchables“ and Sean
Connery’s character responded
to another who was
complaining about the state of
affairs in his community,
“What are you prepared to do
about it?”
Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center
was started in 2005 to fill a gap
in our community – taking care
of wild animals that are
displaced, injured, sick or
orphaned. We are 1 of only 2
Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers
in Western Oregon that take all
species. One is in Corvallis and
we, in Salem, serve Marion,
Polk, Yamhill and all the
counties in and surrounding
Portland. We are permitted for
Birds (including Raptors &
Waterfowl) as well as
Mammals. We saw the
problem in our community –
there was no one for these
animals. So we prepared – with
volunteers, training and a
vision. This year we will finish
with intake of 1,300 individual
animals and suspect this will
continue to steeply grow. Our
mission is very passionate for
us. Simply, we want to end the
suffering. We provide medical
care to those injured or sick and
we raise orphans to healthy
juveniles ready to be on their
own and released back to a safe
and natural environment.
Oregon was the number 1
relocation state for people in
2015. Every year about 35,000
people are moving to
Western/Central Oregon and
this is putting extreme pressure
on our wildlife. Since 2000,
Oregon has lost over 500,000
acres of pristine forest and
600,000 acres of agricultural
land. Much of this is in the
Willamette Valley
(Oregonwild.org). This loss of
habitat has a direct impact on
our beautiful wild animals.
All of us get weary. But never
do we lose our passion. All it
takes is one look in the eyes of a
cold and starving baby or feel
the pain of a broken wing and
we know we can keep doing it
and keep doing it. We are their
only hope.
We are a business like any
other business with utilities and
insurance bills and
maintenance on our equipment,
buildings and grounds. We are
frugal and creative in saving
every dollar we can. Our
budget of $150,000 is low for
what we do – very low. But
you can imagine how hard it is
to raise that every single year
when we don’t charge for our
services. It surprises many to
hear that we receive not a dime
in funding from any federal,
state, county or city sources.
We rely SOLELY on private
donations and a few small
grants.
If you love the beautiful flora
and fauna of our state, can you
help us do our part? Are you
prepared to do something
about it by helping us? We
need you!
“We are their only hope…We need you!”
Newborn Raccoon
Baby Barn Owlets
Chipmunk
Baby Skunks
4 of 10 American
Kestrel hatchlings Cedar Waxwings &
American Robins
Great Horned Owlet
American
Bushtit
Fledgling
Raccoon
Fitness
Circuit!
Green Heron
hatchling
Scrub Jay
fledgling
showing off
his new
feathers
Northern Flying Squirrel
BABY BEAVERS TEAM UP FOR RELEASE
Two of our cutest orphans this
season were a pair of baby
beavers. Justin (as in Bieber) was
found abandoned in the Detroit
Lake area. The rescuer watched
for three hours but no adult
beaver came for the kit, which
quickly became cold and weak.
Because it was becoming
hypothermic, the rescuer
brought him to us. Justin
responded well to treatment and
regular bottle feedings. Once his
immediate medical needs were
met, the next challenge was
making plans for the long term.
Young beavers need a lot of time
to mature and grow strong
enough to survive in the wild.
However, it is difficult to raise a
single orphan in captivity, which
is stressful for them.
We were very fortunate when the
Portland Audubon Society
partnered with us to raise an
orphaned beaver, MoMo, that
came into their care. Both Justin
and MoMo were only a couple
weeks old and still nursing so it
was a perfect match. It was a
challenge to keep baby bottle
nipples on hand, though. We lost
at least one during each feeding
because of their very sharp teeth!
While Justin and MoMo didn’t
bond immediately, they soon
became a force to be reckoned
with! They teamed up well,
practiced swimming together, and
were eventually weaned onto
solid food. A critical release
condition for beavers is the ability
to a build a den and it was with
joy and relief that we watched
them work cooperatively on their
first home.
Justin
the
Bieber
Justin and MoMo
Avoiding Conflict –
We Can Help! Beaver and human
interactions have
increased as we expand
into their habitat. Many
adult beavers are
brought to us with
severe injuries, often
human inflicted. There
are solutions for
humans and beavers to
co-exist without
harming each other.
Please contact us for
more information at
503-540-8664.
Importance of Beavers in Our Ecosystem 85 percent of all native North American fauna rely on wetlands.
Beavers create ponds and wetlands that:
Provide winter habitat for cutthroat trout & Coho salmon
Provide habitat for plants and animals and critical nesting and
foraging areas for game and songbirds
Improve water quality by removing toxins and sediment
Control downstream flooding, and provide buffer zones for
wildfires
Promote vegetative growth to stabilize stream banks
Two streams near Elko, NV: Trout Creek on left and
Cottonwood Ranch on right where beaver live. Ranch owner
planned to kill the beavers until he noticed that they diverted
water into the region. (Photo: courtesy of Sarah Koenigsberg)
WILDLIFE WARRIORS SAVING A LIFE
By Jean Daugherty It was my first time alone at the
center and quite frankly, I was
a little nervous. The phone
rang; Aaron needed directions
as he had an unconscious red
tail hawk in the cab of his truck.
I gave him directions hoping I
was right since I was new to
Salem and could barely find the
place myself. He said he saw
the hawk get hit by a semi on I-
5 by Wilsonville. He pulled
over, braved traffic and secured
the bird in his coat. He had
called several other centers but
no one had answered so he
kept driving until I picked up
the phone at Turtle Ridge.
He arrived about 10 minutes
later just as the hawk was
regaining consciousness,
battling its way out of the coat.
One of the defining features of
a raptor is strong talons, its
means of hunting and survival
that is highly dangerous to a
human attempting to restrain it.
I grabbed my welder gloves
and wrangled the hawk safely
out of the truck; luckily I came
to Turtle Ridge with 10 years’
experience at Cascade Raptor
Center. Since I was alone, I
handed Aaron another pair of
gloves and instructed him on
how to restrain the hawk so I
could do an exam. Aaron’s
eyes were huge as I handed
him the hawk. I covered the
hawk’s eyes with a small towel
and it stopped
fighting; covering
the eyes
significantly lowers
the stress of the
animal and allows
for a less traumatic
experience. I did a
quick exam, gave it
20cc of oral fluids and some
Metacam for pain. Luckily
nothing appeared to be broken
(x rays would be taken later to
confirm) and we put him away
to rest until our center
manager, Jessy, returned and
could do a full exam.
I thanked Aaron for his bravery
in being a Wildlife Warrior and
discussed the possibility of
assisting with release should
the hawk be able to return to
the wild. He enthusiastically
agreed. The hawk suffered a
concussion and some body
bruising but recovered
beautifully with rest, good
food, quiet surroundings and
quality medical care. Three
weeks later I met with Aaron at
a beautiful park in Wilsonville.
We wanted to return the hawk
to the area it came from but
well away from I-5. We walked
through a field to a quiet stand
of oak trees, I pulled the hawk
out of the carrier and handed
him to Aaron who gently
pointed him toward the trees,
gave a gentle lift and push
while releasing his grip on the
legs. The hawk exploded into
flight and landed in the nearest
tree. From there, he surveyed
his surroundings for almost 10
minutes before taking off in full
flight into the blue sky. The
experience was over fairly
quickly but the emotions of
delight, awe, gratitude and
wonder will last a lifetime.
At Turtle Ridge we call the
folks like Aaron Wildlife
Warriors because there is a
battle raging against our
feathered and furred creatures
amid pollution, habitat
destruction and at times,
human arrogance. In my 12
years of wildlife rehabilitation
I’ve experienced many truly
sad tales of our wildlife paying
the price for human comfort;
however, I have also
experienced the Aaron’s of the
world, those people who are
WILLING to be courageous,
caring and don’t hesitate to go
the extra mile to save a
feathered or furred creature.
For all of you Wildlife Warriors
I say THANK YOU!
“Just then I saw a young hawk flying and my soul began to rise. And pretty soon my heart was singing.” Bob Seger
NEW BEGINNINGS It was a captivating moment for
the newlyweds and American
Kestrels. It started with a wedding
and ended with the release of
kestrels that had been raised as
orphans at Turtle Ridge Wildlife
Center. Here is the story told by
Gabriele Keeler of Keeler Estate
Vineyards:
“It was an early August outdoor
wedding. My husband, Craig,
made his favorite trip to Turtle
Ridge to pick up four Canadian
Geese and seven Kestrels for
release. When he returned, the
wedding ceremony was just over
and the reception had just begun.
The young couple wanted to get
away for a few moments
and spend a little quiet
time on our observation
deck. It is the highest
part of our vineyard
with a spectacular view
over the Willamette
Valley to the south and a
magnificent old oak
forest to the north. It is a
special place.
Completely unrehearsed, we
decided to bring the kestrels to
this place and asked the bride and
groom to release them, so the
birds could start a new life as they
were starting their new life. It was
a moving moment for all of us,
but something so special the new
couple will remember the rest of
their lives. Later in the evening,
the Canadian Geese came and
crashed the wedding reception to
the delight of all. It was the very
best day ever.”
The Keelers and Turtle
Ridge partner in providing
safe and appropriate release
sites for wildlife. Craig and
Gabriele share our
commitment to a sustainable
environment and they are
true guardians of the
ecosystem. In 1989 they
bought a rundown 200-acre
farm located in Amity that was
abandoned and overgrown
with blackberry bushes. They
slowly cleared the land and
replanted using Biodynamics,
a holistic, ecological and
ethical approach to agriculture.
It’s very demanding and labor
intensive, but reflects their love
and passion for the environment. Their creation is a natural,
interconnected ecosystem that includes the vineyard, streams, ponds, gardens, fruit trees, avian perches, bees,
and native mushrooms…all intended to promote wildlife.
“You have no idea how much joy you and your precious animals give to us.” Gabriele Keeler
Photos courtesy of Keeler Estate Vineyards. Top: Newlyweds & American Kestrels. Bottom Clockwise
from top left: Observation Deck & vineyard; Butterfly and wildflowers illustrate their Biodynamic