Russ Zimmer

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Melissa Jacobs unlatches the door to a shed behind her Neptune home. The doors swing open and reveal no lawnmower or shovels, but three sets of masked eyes belonging to adolescent raccoons, cordoned off behind a curtain of chicken wire.

Just a few weeks ago, the trio of abandoned females from separate litters were brought to Jacobs. They will be released back into the wild this spring after having survived the winter only because of the care from Jacobs and a phone call from a concerned neighbor.

1. There is a shrinking number of licensed wildlife rehabilitators in New Jersey

Wildlife rehabilitators are the people you are supposed to call when a wild animal is found in crisis.

"I’ve been a licensed rehabilitator for 24 years," Jacobs said. "When I started, I used to get 80 calls a year. I got 3,800 last year."

This shortage of wildlife rehabilitators was expected to be part of the defense in a scheduled trial for a Howell woman who had rescued and raised two abandoned baby squirrels, a violation of a state law meant to prohibit people from taking wild animals as pets. The charge was dismissed the day the trial was set to begin.

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In 2000, there were 93 names on the state's list of licensed rehabilitators. Today, there are just 22.

"There were more rehabbers taking in animals (back then) and the amount (of animals) coming in I don’t think was as much," said John Bergmann, longtime director of Popcorn Park Zoo, which relies on the small network of wildlife rehabilitators to take in the native animals that the zoo collects in its capacity as the official and unofficial animal control department for a number of Jersey Shore towns. "Wildlife is in contact with people a lot more than it used to be. The numbers were still a lot back then, but now it’s overwhelming at times.”

Even though there are just 22 places people can call, there could be multiple rehabilitators at a single location, according to New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spokesman Bob Considine. The rehabilitator program is under the supervision of the DEP's Division of Fish and Wildlife.

In fact, there are 40 rehabilitators this year, more than at any point since 2009, according to the DEP. That doesn't mean there are enough.

"I think it’s safe to say there are challenges in getting and keeping licensed rehabilitators," Considine told the Asbury Park Press. "But this is not a New Jersey issue, this is a nationwide issue due mostly to economic reasons. ... You have a situation where you often have to absorb the costs of cages, food and medicine without a regular paycheck. Many of the rehabilitators we have have full-time jobs to support themselves."

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2. Rehabilitators are divided on why this is happening

Tracy Leaver is president of the New Jersey Association of Wildlife Rehabilitators and also the founder and director of the Woodlands Wildlife Refuge. She said her association continues to work with the DEP to attract and retain more apprentices.

Part of that is communicating a message that says you don't have to do it all.

"It's not 'what do you want to do' — because we all want to do all of it — but what can you afford? What do you have room for? What are you allowed to do on your property? What do you have time for?” she said.

Wildlife rehabilitation in New Jersey is split into two camps: backyard operations like Jacobs's and larger-scale, semi-professional nonprofits that are incorporated as charities. Rehabilitators are not allowed to charge for their services, so they rely on donations of food and money.

Leaver grew the Woodlands from a startup 30 years ago into a 501(C)(3) that employs four paid staff members and "an army of incredible volunteers." According to tax records, the Woodlands reported $240,346 in contributions in 2014 and Leaver was paid $45,835.

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At its base in Hunterdon County, the Woodlands took in more than 900 animals last year and is approved to care for a wide variety of New Jersey mammals, such as bears and coyotes, as well as snakes and turtles.

Meanwhile, Jacobs is a full-time X-ray technologist who at any given time has a couple squirrels, a few raccoons and a possum or two that she is raising to maturity or nursing back to health.

Home-based rehabilitators are the spine of the network, but Jacobs and others believe that the system favors the larger operations and is trying to push part-timers like herself out of the industry.

“What they wanted to do is shut down all the small rehabbers and get four or five or six big centers and then they could charge people and make it a business,” said Hope Kolsch-Davison, who runs the Wild Baby Rescue Center in Blairstown.

Davison said the state bogs them down in paperwork for unknown reasons and selectively enforces the minutiae of the rulebook — all in an effort to make it too onerous to continue. She said it took her two weeks to fill out the annual report the state requires.

"They want to know the sex of every animal I have. Why? Are you going to check this? Are you going to find them and look up their skirts?" she said.

Considine disputes that the state is targeting home-based operators, saying the state wants to have more rehabilitators, not fewer.

"But at the same time, there are standards they must meet in order for wildlife to be put back in the wild," he said.

That distrust is not shared across the board.

"I am a home-based rehabilitator and I have a very good relationship with Fish and Wildlife," said Sharon Ragonese, who operates Nature's Rescue in Barnegat.

3. It's hard work, by necessity

Leaver said she believes that it's actually easier to do this kind of work in New Jersey than it is elsewhere in the nation.

The rules are the rules because they make sense, she said. Not everybody should be caring for wild animals.

“We have a squirrel here that was hand raised and it's never gonna be released because it didn’t get the proper care," Leaver said. "It's just not a good idea, for the people or the animals or the wildlife rehabilitator that eventually ends up with (the animal).”

The pressures on wildlife rehabilitators in the nation's most densely populated state are unlikely to ease, according to the rehabilitators themselves. While there is a growing demand, there is broad competition for animal welfare charity dollars.

“There’s money for dogs, there’s money for cats. When you’re talking about squirrels and raccoons not many people really care,” Ragonese said.

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What to do if you find a wild animal in crisis?

People often unnecessarily involve themselves in normal wildlife behavior, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. In many instances, human interaction may not be the best course of action.

For that reason, if you stumble upon a fawn or a baby rabbit, don't pick it up. The mother may be out foraging for food and is unlikely to return to her young if you are nearby.

Call one of the state's licensed wildlife rehabilitators, describe the situation and take their instructions. If you get a busy signal or voicemail, try another name on the list.

If you encounter an animal that is obviously injured, the same steps should be followed. Contact a wildlife rehabilitator or your town's animal control officer, don't attempt to care for the animal yourself before getting advice.

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com