Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care Gets New Home

For 36 years, Tom and Cheryl Millham have operated Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care out of their home on Cherry Hills Circle in the county portion of South Lake Tahoe. Today, their dream of creating a new sanctuary with no neighboring homes has became a reality.

Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care worked together with the local pioneer Springmeyer family to lease and purchase 27 acres of land. The new location on Springmeyer land will give them an even greater opportunity to rescue, rehabilitate and eventually release back into the wild injured and orphaned wildlife from the Lake Tahoe Region and beyond, according to the Millhams.

The new location will be near the corner of Al Tahoe Blvd and Pioneer Trail, on the northeast side of the road. It will contain a full scale wildlife rehabilitation center, an area to view the care and treatment of injured wildlife, a wildlife sanctuary that provides free-roaming areas within natural habitat, and a long-term home for animals and birds that cannot be reintroduced into the wild.

LTWC has been planning a move for the last ten years. When the Millhams first started caring for animals in their home, their neighborhood was fairly vacant and there were no homes adjacent to them. They have now outgrown the house and .75 acre yard.

"Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care extremely pleased about this week's signing of a lease/option agreement with the Springmeyer family," said Sue Novasel, incoming LTWC Board President. "With this signed agreement, LTWC is looking forward to creating a new chapter in our long history of caring for injured and orphaned wild birds and animals. Our plans include expanding services to animals that need long-term care as well as building a world-class educational center for locals and tourists alike."

They hope to break ground by May, 2015, depending on the permitting process. The new center will be built in two phases,which will include the rehab center (with lab and cages for care)and an educational center (including event center/gift shop/education areas). An on site caretaker;s house (which will be the Millham's new home) will also be built.

Several generous donations have been received by LTWC recently, The agency is thanking the estate of Barbara Hartoonian (another pioneer Lake Tahoe family), Marjorie Springmeyer, her daughter-in-law Bonnie, and Bonnie’s three children: Erin, Sara, and Ryan. While these two families were very instrumental in making this dream a reality, there has been uncountable generosity from all parts of the globe in keeping LTWC functional over the years and the Millhams and LTWC want to make sure they are all thanked.