We are thrilled to announce that Center for Wildlife turns 40 in 2026!!
We are planning a year of anniversary celebrations including: special events, interviews with pivotal human beings that have been part of our team over the years, spotlights of ambassadors past and present, and much more. Here is a brief overview of our first 40 years, and we look forward to sharing more throughout the year ahead:​
In 1986, a veterinarian (Dr. Gerry Beekman) and state senator (Dawn Hill), noticed that there was no place to bring an injured or orphaned wild animal, and that concerned community members were not okay leaving a seabird struggling on the beach wrapped in fishing line, or the Blanding’s turtle hit by a car on her way to lay eggs. Animal Control Officers do not have medical training or veterinary clinics in their police stations. Wildlife Agencies do not have a medical arm of their programs and veterinarians cannot afford to offer care to patients with no owners.
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And thus, a small group of individuals established CFW as a 501(c)3 in January of 1986, and acquired a trailer on rented property. That first year, we worked out of a trailer with no running water or electricity. We admitted 100 animals, the phone rang maybe once a week, and we had no paid staff and weren’t conducting education programs. In just 5 years time, we were admitting hundreds of animals, and noted that 99% of the
admissions were due to some kind of human activity, and not the natural causes that wildlife have evolved to deal with over eons. We then committed to establishing education as the other arm of our work. We felt that if we were not performing education & outreach to empower the community to make changes in behaviors and choices of development and consumption to prevent injuries from happening, we would be doing our work in a vacuum.
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In 1991, we moved to the 385 Mountain Road location, and in 1995 we expanded to a donated ranch house that was moved from the Nubble Lighthouse neighborhood to leased land on the York Water District property. From 1995 to 2020, we did not expand our facilities, though the demand for our services and leadership in the fields of wildlife rehabilitation and environmental education had grown exponentially. In 2020 we moved into our permanent home located at 375 Mountain Road, Today, Center for Wildlife serves the New England region managing up to 2,500 patients (soon to be up to 3,500) each year representing more than 190 species of birds, reptiles, and mammals from 120 communities. In addition to wildlife patients, our Medical Clinic Program includes our Wildlife Assistance Hotline which fields more than 15,000 phone calls per year from the public helping them to avoid interaction or negative impacts on wildlife.
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We look forward to sharing more with you throughout the year as we celebrate 40 years of CFW and look ahead to the next 40 years!
See construction on our new building in 2020:
