Hi Dave, et al

I think most birders have at one time or another have sought out the help of
a wildlife rehabilitator for an orphaned or injured thing they have found
while out on their birding excursions. I do believe this is pertinent to most of
the TWEETER's subscribers. Thanks for your feedback. Your opinion is
valuable and appreciated by me for one.

Since I was not part of the development of this proposed legislation I must
confess that I would not know if there is a conspiracy involved. However, I
very seriously doubt that there is one.

As one of the first licensed rehabilitators in this state (lic.# WR-0011) I
have had the privilege to work with not only the permit administrators and
enforcement officers but also the biologists within the Dept. of Fish and
Wildlife since the '80's. I have never perceived anything other than a genuine
appreciation from the department for the services we, as a group, have provided
to the citizens of this state over the years. 'We' have been licensed since
the early 1980's. The governing and oversight bureaucracy is already in
place and working rather efficiently I might add. To date the state has been in
a position to issue these licenses at no charge. I'm not sure how. I does
cost to conduct our state testing and inspection processes and to administer
our licenses.

So I see this bill as an attempt to pull together a number of disjointed but
currently existing processes into a cohesive piece of legislation that
provides better oversight of and assistance to a fast developing professional
service industry.

I feel license fees are very appropriate, just as they are for any license
issued by our state. 'Our' Federal licenses are attached to fees and renewal
dates as well. [BTW: a federal license is required for all rehabilitators who
work with migratory birds of any kind - a state license is only the first
step and not enough on it's own]. The changes that I see being created by this
legislation is that we would go BACK to annual renewal of the existing
licenses, most likely to the old and quiet functional system we once had. The
state had recently changed to not requiring renewal as long as our annual reports
are filed on time.

Regarding the background check I TOTALLY understand this issue. Wildlife
Rehabilitators are often called upon to go onto private property and sometimes
enter private homes and on occasion, handle controlled substances.
Liabilities could be great! [Our insurance cost is high!] We shouldn't have DUI's to
be worried about and if one does that person has bigger issues to be deal with
than getting a rehabilitation license.

Let's hope we can ask for a higher and better standard of conduct for
wildlife rehabilitators. As for the 'lawyers', I should think that an 'officer of
the court' should be expected to NOT be breaking the laws of our state, yes?
So let's try to raise their standard if we can! Also, MOST lawyers are not
'non-profits' applying for state funding. These requirements will be placed
only upon those rehabilitators applying for these funds. So I think the
comparison may be a case of apples and oranges.

As for the issue of the effectiveness of the $2.00 portion on the personal
license plate fee to be allocated to the 'fund'. I think you might be
surprised how many people buy these specialized plates! I, just one person, know
nearly 30 people who buy them. This program is not suggesting that it should
or will 'completely' fund all rehabilitation services performed in the state.
It states that the program will provide some funds to only four such
applicants in each region. We have six regions so we are only talking about
funding about twenty facilities and then only to a certain amount. There are
currently several dozens of licensed rehabilitators in our state. Even the
facilities that benefit from the state fund will still require LOTS of private
donations, grants and other forms of fundraising sources. So whatever amount
may be raised will be put to good use.

If you might be curious it costs, on average, about $150 a WEEK to house and
care for an injured bald eagle. Much more if it's injuries are serious.
The facility up in Sequim currently has over six bald eagles in house. They
need a great deal of financial help from whatever direction it comes! The
facility at which I was last employed 'squeaked by' on $65K a year! That really
wasn't enough.

So I don't know what the numbers really are but whatever amount might be
raised will be very good. This program looks to me like a non-tax based program
supported mainly by volunteer residents. So where is the problem there?
This bill doesn't hurt any other program, raise taxes or take anything away
from anybody.
The services which are provided directly benefit and provide great value to
all state residents whether they are kind and buy the specialized plates or
not. What a bargain!

I do hope that you noted the section regarding the non-native and nuisance
species. I think, as mentioned before, that this is most unfortunate but it
should give the 'species managers' some comfort. I wish it contained a clause
that allowed for the relief of pain and suffering of non-native species as
long as they are not released back into the environment. I think that would
demonstrate that both the legislators and the people of the state are capable
of showing compassion to all living beings. As it stands the unspoken
message is that suffering is acceptable as long as the beings experiencing it are
non-native or are considered to be a nuisance species. Shame on us all if
this is true.

However, I still support this bill as is. It is a great improvement from
the currently dreadful circumstances. Many facilities are beginning to close
their doors because of financial distress. This is a very expense endeavor
and the small facilities in the rural communities are barely keeping their
heads above water.

I hope you reconsider your position and see the glass as half full. Still
listening.

All please take care,
Sandy Fletcher



Fletcherglen Wildlife Services
P. O. Box 2716
Silverdale, WA 98383-2716

Cell: 360.620.8688
eFax: 501.635.8688
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