Most Viewed Stories
- COLUMN: The both of best worlds: Foreign worker’s tragic death hits home
- COPTER CLAMOR: Residents up in arms over proposed helicopter tours near Kelly Plantation
- RON HART: Biden his time and doing Obama’s bidding
- Destin Dog Park wins Community of Excellence Award
- COLUMN: Community parenting and a party in the park
'WASN'T FINANCIALLY FEASIBLE': Wildlife refuge making its move from Destin
OKALOOSA ISLAND — The Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge will reopen Monday in the old county fire station on Santa Rosa Boulevard.
The move is bittersweet because the nonprofit will leave its home in Destin, where it was founded in 1994.
“We did everything we could do to stay in Destin, but it wasn’t financially feasible,” said Amanda Wilkerson, director.
At its building on Mountain Drive, the refuge was paying $24,000 a year in rent. The county has agreed to lease the fire station, which is located at 105 Santa Rosa Blvd., to the refuge for $1 a year.
“It’s a huge thing for us,” Wilkerson said. “We are extremely excited. It takes a huge burden off of the refuge.”
The money the refuge saves in rent will be put toward its long-term plan to build a new building and educational center on the old Island Golf Center property, she added.
The fire station also has four times the space as the Mountain Drive facility, said Patrick Gault, assistant director of the refuge.
“The layout is much more functional,” he said. “We’ll have separated rooms. And we’ll have that access to the beach right across the street.”
The fire station offers the refuge more than 6,000 square feet to rehab and house the animals it rescues from Okaloosa, Walton and Santa Rosa counties.
“I think animal care will improve,” Wilkerson said. “Okaloosa Island is such a central location for us. We’re in a good spot to have a quicker response time to our entire area.”
County Commissioner Don Amunds said Okaloosa Island will benefit from the refuge’s presence.
“It’s not far from the pier, and we have lots of ducks and pelicans that get caught up in fishing lines,” he said. “And if they have to go only across the street, it’ll be better.”
The refuge also will be able to assist with wildlife that could be affected by oil washing ashore from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, said County Commissioner James Campbell.
“I think the timing was great,” he said. “Their cause is a good one, and this was just the right thing to do.”
