We made the news!
Check out our article in the Betsie Current.
Originally posted in Volume XII, Issue 3 by Emily Cook.
The arrival of March means many things. Winter’s intensity lessens, the sun shares its light for more hours of the day— accompanied by the sounds of returning robins and red-winged blackbirds from their southern migration—and outdoor enthusiasts swap their cross-country skis for hiking boots and mountain bikes once again. Without fail, March also brings “baby season” for Michigan wildlife. From a clutch full of chickadees to a family of opossums to a sleeping fawn, the young creatures of the region are plentiful in spring. Unfortunately, this can result in a higher likelihood of stumbling upon an orphaned or injured animal—how should someone living in Northwest Michigan handle this situation? Samantha Wolfe (32)—originally from Benzie County, but now residing in Grand Traverse County—has an answer.
“Sleeping Bear Wildlife Fund was started to help rehabilitate and restore the wildlife and the wild spaces that exist in the northwest lower [peninsula of] Michigan, and to help connect people to nature through wildlife,” she says.
Slated to begin operation this spring—just in time for the aforementioned “baby season”— Wolfe and SBWF’s cofounder, Justin Grubb (31), a wildlife photographer and biologist, will be providing a much-needed environmental service to the region. (Grubb’s wife’s family is from Northern Michigan.) Apart from raptorspecific facilities—North Sky Raptor Sanctuary of Interlochen and Skegemog Raptor Center on the east side of Traverse City—other rehabilitation nonprofit organizations are currently two or more hours away, based in Grand Rapids, Eaton Rapids, and Houghton Lake.
“Sleeping Bear Wildlife Fund is based in Benzie County and covers northwest lower Michigan—wildlife populations don’t care about municipal boundaries and county lines,” Wolfe says. “As long as we are able to arrange transport, I am happy to be a resource for the wildlife in [the greater] area.”
SBWF will start out by helping to rehabilitate opossums, rabbits, and squirrels at the Benzie location, but the organization will also be able to take in myriad other animals temporarily, until they can be transferred to another rehab facility. Regardless if the animal stays with SBWF in Benzie County or is moved to another appropriate organization, the hope is to be able to release these animals back to the wild, once they are healthy and viable.
Read the rest of the article here…
