Designing the scientific research program for post-release survival rates of the avian patients of the wildlife rehabilitation center of Northern Utah

While the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center ofNorthern Utah (WRCNU) utilizes effective methods to enable birds admitted into their care to be released back into the wild, there has been no way to determine the survival rates of these birds post-release to determine the true success rate of the rehabilitation program. By utilizing a combination of bird banding and radio tracking, the WRCNU can determine the success of their rehabilitation program through comparison of "purely wild" birds to those that have undergone the rehabilitation program and provide opportunity to make program adjustments as necessary. This type of programmatic analysis will allow the WRCNU to evaluate the success rate of their program, serve as a cornerstone for future research in the field, utilize the demonstrated success to apply for additional funding through scientific grants, and expand their program to meet the ever increasing need to reduce negative impacts inflicted on wildlife by humans.