Amber Oldfield brings a young raccoon out of its enclosure July 22 at her northeast Cedar Rapids home. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)Amber Oldfield stands July 22 in the wildlife rehabilitation area she has built in the backyard of her northeast Cedar Rapids home. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)Vesta the fox plays with a toy July 22in her enclosure at Amber Oldfield’s northeast Cedar Rapids home. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)A raccoon peers July 22 through the fencing on its coop at Amber Oldfield’s northeast Cedar Rapids home. Oldfield has lived in this home for 10 years and is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. The three raccoons she currently is rehabilitating live together to increase the chance of a successful release. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)Amber Oldfield moves a young raccoon back into its enclosure July 22 and prepares to feed it at her northeast Cedar Rapids home. The city says her operation violates the zoning code and either the animals need to clear out or Oldfield needs to move. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)Stella, a white duck who is not releasable to the wild and is used for educational programming, lives alongside ducks that are being prepared for release at Amber Oldfield’s northeast Cedar Rapids home. Seven ducks will be released once their flight feathers develop. Oldfield has lived in this home for 10 years and is a licensed wildlife rehabilitator. . (Liz Martin/The Gazette)Ducks swim and walk July 22 near their pond at Amber Oldfield’s northeast Cedar Rapids. Seven ducks will be released at another location once their flight feathers develop. The ducks have a small pond in which to swim and eat algae. The coop at left houses raccoons in rehabilitation. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)Ducks swim and sit on the edge of their pond July 22 at Amber Oldfield’s northeast Cedar Rapids home. The licensed wildlife rehabilitator plans to release seven ducks once their flight feathers develop. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)Vesta the fox carries a fresh egg July 22 in her enclosure at Amber Oldfield’s northeast Cedar Rapids. Vesta survived a fire and was rehabilitated by Oldfield, and is now used in educational programming. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)
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CEDAR RAPIDS — A Cedar Rapids woman who rescues injured, sick or abandoned wild animals — such as foxes, beavers, raccoons, squirrels, ducks, geese and others — is being forced to clear out the animals or move because her 16-year-old wildlife rehabilitation practice is not allowed by the city’s zoning code in the single-family residential neighborhood.
“If you take me out, who’s going to do it?” asked Amber Oldfield, 38, who lives in northeast Cedar Rapids and is a state-licensed wildlife rehabilitator.
She recently took the matter to the City Council, urging leaders during a public comment period to make an exception for her service.
Those questioning the city’s recognition of the need for wildlife rehabilitators should look no further than a recent overhaul of the zoning code, which expanded areas where the practice can take place and designated other areas where one could apply for a conditional use permit, city officials said. But Oldfield’s neighborhood is not among them.
“It is a violation of the zoning code,” said Sandi Fowler, deputy city manager, adding Oldfield is not being rushed out.
Oldfield, her attorney and city staff have discussed options for removing the animals from her property but have not set a timeline. City officials also have pointed out other areas where she could move and operate legally within the city limits, they said.
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources also is discussing the issue with the city.
“We are all working together to find a resolution for this — for all parties,” said Ron Lane, an Iowa DNR conservation officer for this area. “It sounds like the city is willing to give her time. I don’t think anyone is looking to be the bad guy or make someone move tomorrow.”
Lane said those with wildlife rehabilitation licenses still must comply with local ordinances.
He and Karmin Klingenberg, a programming planner for the licensing section at Iowa DNR, said they were not aware of other license holders at odds with cities around Iowa. They said they were not familiar with other local ordinances when it comes to wildlife rehabilitation.
Especially in a city as large as Cedar Rapids, Lane said, a wildlife rehabilitator is a “valuable resource,” and many more once existed here to fill the void.
“They do it out of the kindness of their own heart and cash from their pocket,” Lane said.
State license requires yearlong apprenticeship
Oldfield said her pleas to the City Council have fallen on deaf ears.
Cedar Rapids Mayor Brad Hart, when contacted by The Gazette, deferred to city staff, saying he hadn’t been briefed on any new information.
“I understand she also went through the city’s variance process before and her request was denied,” Hart said in an email. “I don’t have any additional information about this issue.”
Oldfield is among 125 in Iowa and fewer than five in Linn County licensed by the Iowa DNR to care for injured, sick or abandoned native animals other than raptors, white tail deer and endangered species, according to state records and Oldfield.
Often, the rehabilitators communicate with each other to see who has room when new animals come in, she said.
Oldfield takes in new animals every few days, rehabilitates them for various lengths of time — weeks, months or longer — and when they are in good health returns them to the wild, she said. People seek her out when help is needed.
“I don’t go looking for animals, they come find me,” she said. “I am good at raising babies, good at tending to wounds. I am good at getting them ready for release. I am not perfect, but I get them back out.”
A few weeks ago, a rabbit infested with maggots was on the verge of death when Oldfield began nursing the creature back to health and the path back to the wild.
It doesn’t always end so well. Last week, an injured goose was brought to her but didn’t survive the transition. It died soon after, she said.
Oldfield cares for about 300 animals over a year, filling a gap in care such that the animals would be put down without her, she said. Most people wouldn’t drive a long distance to find a rescue animal, and public agencies won’t take them, she said.
A message left for Cedar Rapids Animal Care Control was not returned.
A fox named Vesta, duck named Stella
Oldfield currently is housing about 25 animals, including a fox named Vesta, seven mallard ducks, a white duck named Stella, three raccoons, a pheasant and chickens. She was also expecting to take in two injured squirrels.
Vesta and Stella are considered educational animals, meaning they must be made available for educational purposes periodically and are not going to be returned to the wild, Oldfield said.
The animals stay outside in a large penned area. The ducks use a small pond Oldfield built for them. Some animals, such as the raccoons, fox and pheasant, have separate enclosures. She has invested $2,500 on the cages, she said.
Over time, she’s also helped deer, beavers, rabbits, geese, various bird species and others.
The rift with the city puts her in a quandary.
Although she works full time as an office manager for a tire and service company, her financial flexibility to relocate is limited. Her home is valued at less than $80,000, so moving is a lofty expectation, she said. And she doesn’t want to give up what she excels at doing.
“I am scared,” she said. “I’m scared at the fact someone can say we can’t work with you no matter how much time you spend talking and hearing the other side. So I have to uproot my home again. That’s a lot to take in.”
Oldfield said she lost everything during the 2008 flood when she was living in the Time Check neighborhood, where she previously rehabilitated animals.
Two operators in Cedar Rapids
The city is aware of only two wildlife rehabilitators operating in city limits — Oldfield and Rachelle Hansen.
No one has filed a complaint against Oldfield, according to the city and the Iowa DNR. She had contacted police in May when children were trying to access her outdoor animal enclosures.
The police calls brought her practice back to the city’s attention, according to city officials. She previously had been sent a notice to remove animals in 2018 when a city staff member came upon her property while in her neighborhood on another matter.
“She’s a good neighbor,” neighbor Jim Iverson said. “I like having her here. I enjoy the animals.”
As to why Oldfield is being forced to remove the animals given she has not received complaints, Fowler pointed to the violation of city code, and noted she had been in violation under the old version of the code as well.
Hansen, on the other hand, has been reported multiple times and was cited in 2017, according to the city.
The city says it can’t verify Hansen is continuing to harbor animals, though complaints have continued with at least one neighbor contending she’s keeping animals inside but they sometimes get loose and rummage the neighborhood. She denies that.
The city can verify only if the animals are visible; the city does not enter private property, Fowler said. Therefore, no active case exists against Hansen.
Hansen urged the city not to sequester rehabilitation practices to limited areas, noting it is an expensive proposition to move.
“This is not a paid program,” Hansen said. “This is something people do freely for the residents, for Cedar Rapids, and for the animals. We are not hurting anyone, not mistreating or abusing the animals. We take them off people’s hands.”
l Comments: (319) 398-8310; brian.morelli@thegazette.com
