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Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society
"Helping Wildlife Recover"
Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society (MARS) is dedicated to helping ill, injured, orphaned and oiled wildlife recover and eventually be released back to the wild. We are a non-profit, charitable society (89207 7991 RR0001), incorporated in 1995 (S33281). We are located at 6817 Headquarters Road in Merville. Our organization is funded primarily through donations, memberships, gaming funds, fund-raising activities, and some civic and corporate grants.
We have two full-time staff, our Wildlife Rehabilitator and a General Manager. Since 1999, we have been able to hire summer students to assist with care and projects. Local and International organizations seek to contribute to our centre through youth work experience programs. We have begun an internship program to give valuable hands-on experience to students in the field of biology, environmental studies or veterinary medicine.
We became a designated Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in March 1996 after Mary Jane (Maj) Birch, our staff Rehabilitator, completed an exam, and met Ministry requirements. We have permits to rehabilitate wildlife from Environment Canada as well as Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. Maj has completed International training in Basic Wildlife Rehabilitation, and advanced skills training in Wound Management and Medical Management of Oil Affected Birds. She is also a member of the BC Marine Oil Spill Workforce and a past Director of the Wildlife Rehabilitators Network of BC. She has organized and is actively involved conservation issues with The Bald Eagle Nest Tree Monitoring Program in Campbell River, and the Oyster Bay Wetlands Project.
MARS works closely with local veterinarians, who provide the medical treatment and expertise to help wildlife. We provide wound management, proper diets, housing and exercise, prior to release. The SPCA's in Campbell River, the Comox Valley, Powell River and beyond refer wildlife calls to our volunteers. We have grown from 132 cases in 1996 to 509 cases in 2002. We respond to over 2000 phone calls per year, dealing with information concerning wildlife. We can be seen in parades, local fairs, and other venues with our displays. We offer educational slide presentations to various schools or service clubs and provide tours of our facility to groups by appointment.
Our permits restrict us from public viewing and from keeping non-releasable wildlife. We do not handle large carnivores such as bear, cougar or wolf. We rehabilitate songbirds, small raptors and waterfowl. Eagles and mammals are rescued and transferred to other Wildlife centers who rehabilitate those species.
We encourage the public to help with the rescue of wildlife, by bringing small species to us, or a veterinarian, if injured. With large or dangerous wildlife, such as eagles, herons and swans, our trained volunteers respond. We have toll-free pager, which enables volunteers to respond more quickly (1-800-304-9968). Four of our volunteers became certified wildlife rehabilitators, completing the International Wildlife Rehabilitators Council (IWRC) Basic Skills lab in 2001 and 2002.
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