About Us
Wildlife Rescue Coalition was founded on a simple belief – every wild animal deserves care, respect, and the chance to return home. Our team of dedicated volunteers responds to calls from the community, providing guidance, rescue support, and rehabilitation for native wildlife in need.
Through compassion, education, and community involvement, we work to create a safer environment for local wildlife and the people who care about them. Each rescue is a reminder of what can happen when a community comes together to protect the natural world around us.
Started in a Backyard. Now We’re Saving Thousands.
In 1997, a woman named Barbara Tidwell started rescuing injured wildlife out of her backyard in Jacksonville. There was no grand plan, no facility, no staff — just a deep conviction that the animals showing up hurt and displaced in people’s yards deserved a fighting chance, and a community willing to show up alongside her to give them one.
Nearly three decades later, that backyard operation has grown into one of the largest wildlife rescue organizations in Northeast Florida. We now operate on 26 acres of private property in St. Augustine, under the leadership of President Lisa Rowell, and we serve a region stretching from Fernandina Beach to Palm Coast to Palatka. Last year alone we took in approximately 3,000 animals.
The thing that hasn’t changed since 1997? It’s still completely volunteer-run. Every animal that comes through our care is handled by people who showed up because they wanted to — not because it’s their job. That’s always been the heart of this organization, and it always will be.
Our Mission
We are a nonprofit, all volunteer organization dedicated to the care of injured, orphaned and displaced native-to-Florida wildlife. Our goal is to restore each animal to full health and prepare them for a successful release into the wild.
100% Volunteers. Zero Compromises.
There are wildlife organizations in Florida that rely on paid staff, government contracts, or a single central facility. We're not that. Every person who answers our hotline, drives an animal across the county at midnight, or wakes up at 2am to bottle-feed a baby squirrel is a volunteer. That's not a limitation — it's what makes us who we are.
We Come to You
Our volunteers live and work throughout Northeast Florida — from the beaches to the farmland. We don't wait for animals to come to us. Our transport team, phone team, and foster network spread across the region means help is almost always closer than you'd think.
We Don't Just Rescue — We Rehabilitate
Taking an animal in is only the beginning. Our fosters tube-feed, monitor growth, treat injuries, and spend hundreds of hours preparing each animal for life back in the wild. We're not a holding facility. We're a rehabilitation program — and release is always the goal.
We Know This Region
Florida's wildlife isn't generic, and neither are its challenges. Rapid development, hurricane seasons, and urban sprawl create a constant flow of displaced animals. We've been responding to this region specifically for nearly 30 years. We know the land, the species, and the community.
Florida Is One of the Most Biodiverse States in America — and One of the Fastest Developing
Florida is home to more than 700 native wildlife species. It has more freshwater springs than any other state, one of the largest intact subtropical ecosystems in the world, and wildlife that exists nowhere else on the planet. It's genuinely one of the most remarkable natural environments in North America.
It's also one of the fastest-growing states in the country. Every new road, every cleared lot, every development project pushes wildlife out of the habitat they depend on — and into contact with people who don't always know what to do when they find an injured fawn in their backyard.
The animals we care for aren't exotic or endangered — they're your neighbors. The raccoon that tips over your trash can, the squirrel that raids your bird feeder, the opossum waddling across your yard at night. They were here long before the houses and roads were, and they deserve a real chance to recover and go home.
One of the leading causes of wildlife injury in Florida. Expanding roads and faster traffic create an increasingly dangerous landscape for animals crossing their natural territory.
High winds topple nests, separate families, and strand young animals without shelter. Every major storm season brings a surge of orphaned and displaced wildlife to our care.
Florida is consistently one of the fastest-growing states in the US. As natural habitat shrinks, wildlife displacement becomes an everyday reality — not an occasional event.
Every animal we return to the wild is a small but meaningful contribution to a balanced local ecosystem. Predators, prey, and everything in between — each species plays a role that benefits the whole.
What Happens After Rehabilitation?
We get this question a lot — especially from our fosters who grow close to the animals in their care. Here's the full picture of what happens after an animal is ready to leave us.
Care & Rehabilitation
Animals receive hands-on medical care, feeding, and rehabilitation at our Wildlife Center or in the homes of our dedicated foster volunteers — until they're strong enough to survive on their own.
Release Site Selection
We don't just open a door. Each animal is matched to a release site based on its species, behavior, and individual needs — chosen from a network of carefully vetted properties across Northeast Florida.
Monitoring & Support
After release, we monitor animals via trail cameras and continue providing supplemental food until they're fully established in their new habitat and no longer need our support.
Our Release Locations
How We Choose Where an Animal Goes
Not every animal can go to the same place. Release site selection is one of the most important decisions we make — and we take it seriously. Every location in our network is personally vetted to make sure it can meet the specific needs of the animals we send there.
- Location is matched to the animal's species and individual temperament
- All sites provide appropriate food sources, shelter, and territory
- Trail cameras allow us to monitor animals after release
- Supplemental feeding continues until animals are self-sufficient
- We maintain relationships with private landowners across the region
Accreditations
- Florida Fish & Wildlife Licensed
- 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization
- USDA Permitted Facility
- International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council Member