RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) - Two volunteers who take care of birds out of their own homes are hoping to bring to life a Raptor Center campus to provide rehabilitation and education.
John Halverson and Maggie Engler have purchased about 13 acres outside of Rapid City to build the Black Hills Raptor Center, The Rapid City Journal (https://bit.ly/2jhoeGU ) reported.
Halverson and Engler’s plans include four main buildings that’ll include office space, a food preparation kitchen, spaces for veterinary services, housing for the birds and an education center.
The center’s new space will also allow it to participate in ongoing studies furthering the understanding of the birds by teaming up with other raptor centers, state and federal agencies, and universities.
The center’s rehabilitation services will be available for birds in a four-state region, including western South Dakota, northwestern Nebraska, eastern Wyoming and western North Dakota.
The volunteers with the center currently care for six birds and have never had the chance to rehabilitate birds because they don’t have the facilities to do so. Engler said the federal government applies strict rules to their operations.
Federal rules prevent Halverson and Engler from rehabilitating birds in their homes, so they only care for birds that can’t return to the wild.
“We’ve had great people step up and help cover the costs of feed and great number of local people local businesses that support us to defray the cost of insurance and upkeep,” Halverson said.
Engler said she is thrilled to have the center’s hard work since its creation in 2010 finally coming to fruition.
“It is all finally coming together,” Engler said. “It’s very, very exciting.”
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Information from: Rapid City Journal, https://www.rapidcityjournal.com
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