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Letter: Should the public have a say in evicting the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah?

In this July 6, 2017, photo, Phoenix, a 5-year-old golden eagle, leaps from perch to perch in his enclosure at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah in Ogden. Phoenix survived third-degree burns from a Utah wildfire and a bout with the West Nile virus that left him blind in one eye now has a job as an educational bird at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah. (Benjamin Zack/Standard-Examiner via AP)

How is it that Ogden city finds itself in the position of allowing the mayor to have the sole discretion to evict the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah by Sept. 6? Where has there been any public process?

The center serves all of northern Utah. Ogden city owns the land. Do the citizens of Ogden really want/need yet more parking along the Ogden River Parkway, and if so, where is the evidence of that?

What is the sudden urgency that the WRCNU building be bulldozed for a parking terrace? Who might the mayor want to evict next before he leaves office in January? Now that the adjacent Dinosaur Park plans to expand, it is apparent that the needs of injured wildlife are taking a back seat and animals will suffer/die needlessly. Is this really how we want to operate?

This is a specialized facility that must adhere to federal and state regulations in accepting wildlife into care up until an animal is released. The spring (baby animal season) and summer months are busiest, and with the impending eviction, the center cannot accept any additional animals as of April 30, unless they are given an extension. Anyone wishing to be kept informed can do so at https://wrcnu.org/ .

Gina Timmerman, Ogden

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