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Conservancy of Southwest Florida cares for Marco Island wildlife through grant

The Marco Island Community Grant Fund through the Collier Community Foundation (CCF) is working with the Conservancy of Southwest Florida to help prevent and treat injuries to wildlife on Marco Island.

The Marco Island Wildlife Patient Care Support grant provides a great boost to the work of the von Arx Hospital team. This Fund has provided $5,000 in grants to assist with treating the increase in injured wildlife for the second year in a row. Marco Island residents and visitors frequently report injured species including gopher tortoises, shorebirds, burrowing owls, pelicans and bald eagles. The hospital strives to provide quality care to animals brought to the hospital.

“Admissions of sick, injured and orphaned wildlife to the von Arx Wildlife Hospital from Marco Island and the surrounding area is steady year-round,” said Joanna Fitzgerald, Director of the von Arx Wildlife Hospital. “Our goal is to provide individualized patient care to each animal admitted.”

The von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy is the closest rehabilitation hospital available to provide expert care to injured Marco Island wildlife. In one year, the average number of animals treated at the hospital is 4,330, with an estimated 10% of those animals coming from the Marco Island area, which includes the Ten Thousand Islands, Everglades City and Goodland.

“Grant support from the Marco Island Community Grant Fund, for the Marco Island Wildlife Patient Care Support program, helps with the medical supply costs associated with these admissions,” said Fitzgerald. “Working with the Collier Community Foundation is important; it shows they recognize and acknowledge there is a need for help in this area in southern Collier County – and we are grateful for this program support.”

About the Conservancy of Southwest Florida:
The Conservancy of Southwest Florida is a not-for-profit environmental protection organization with a 58-year history focused on issues impacting water, land, wildlife and the future of Collier, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry and Glades counties. The Conservancy accomplishes this mission through the combined efforts of its experts in the areas of environmental science, policy, education and wildlife rehabilitation. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida’s world-class Nature Center and von Arx Wildlife Hospital are headquartered in Naples, Florida, 1495 Smith Preserve Way, south of the Naples Zoo off Goodlette-Frank Road. Learn more about the Conservancy’s work and how to support the quality of life in Southwest Florida www.conservancy.org.

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