TimesLeader.com

August 17
Her dream is for the birds

Wende DeOliverra has hopes of building conservation center

By Christie Delicati cdelicati@timesleader.com
Account Executive

Good things come to those who wait…and to those who have an adoring love for birds. That’s the scenario for Wende DeOliverra, a 47-year-old residential real-estate appraiser from Dallas.

Wende DeOliverra gets a kiss from ’Orem Ishi,’ her 2-year-old male cockatoo imported from Italy.

The future site of the Woody Acres Avian Conservation Eco-Center can be seen from the DeOliverra home.

Christie Delicati photos/ For The Dallas Post

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It’s been years of imagining but now DeOliverra’s dream of building a large-scale conservation center for rare and unusual birds is finally underway.

Amidst an 86-acre Back Mountain property sits a 5,100 square foot farm house where DeOliverra resides with her 24-year old son, Gino, also a real-estate appraiser, her companion Dave Brown, 40, and many birds.

In 1997, DeOliverra purchased her first bird, an Umbrella Cockatoo named “Woody.” By October 2007, she was determined to pursue the journey that would put her one step closer toward turning her dream into a reality so she purchased enough property to secure her chance at building what she’s named “Woody Acres Avian Conservation Eco-Center.”

Woody Acres Avian Conservation Eco-Center is a not-for-profit zoological enterprise to promote avian and wildlife conservation, maintain and propagate certain rare and endangered avian species.

DeOliverra’s love for rare birds developed when her son was a small child and she was looking for something to help create a bond between the two of them. She began exploring and researching rare birds on a whim and fell in love with cockatoos, as did her son who also plays a major role in the conservation project.

After working with endangered birds for 12 years, DeOliverra formed a breeding cooperative with the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) to import endangered species. The USFWS is the principal federal agency charged with protecting and enhancing the habitat of more than 800 species of birds that spend all or part of their lives in the United States.

Between her full-time job, caring for her family and her pursuing hobby, DeOliverra gets very little opportunity for rest.

“Cockatoos are not the easiest to deal with being that they are often loud and destructive and prone to human-like obsessive compulsiveness,” DeOliverra said. “They need to be continuously stimulated and occupied.”

According to DeOliverra, there are two different reasons for a project of this magnitude - first, the genetic management of endangered avian species and secondly, to expose the general public to rare and unusual birds and to provide bird goodwill ambassadors.

“Initially, the focus of this project did not include opening it to the public but I’ve come to realize that the birds and I give people a reason to support it,” she adds. The plan is to open the conservation center to the public by 2010.

Endangered species of cockatoos don’t come cheap and are valued anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000, based on the rarity of the bird. DeOliverra is now responsible for about 80 birds which have come from zoos or private importing parties once all U.S. government permits are obtained.

“The permit process is very crucial because back in 1992, the U.S. government seized the importing of parrot species in order to restrict the trade of wild caught parrots,” says DeOliverra.

And that process is no simple task. In order to obtain such permission, a person must prove himself or herself worthy to the government by being a zoological enterprise or having worked with a specific species in the private sector which is how DeOliverra proved her worthiness. She indicates that few people realize all parrot species are considered endangered.

One of her greatest concerns is the estimation that, due to human encroachment, deforestation and the illegal trade in wild caught species, a number of species in residence at the center will become extinct in their country of origin.

DeOliverra stresses that the conservation project is not an animal rescue.

“My birds have an 80 to 90-year life span and are considered to be of the most intelligent and challenging species in the world,” she said. “It is scientifically proven that cockatoos can acquire intelligence equivalent to a 5-year-old child.”

One bird in particular, “Moses,” the last proven blue-eyed cockatoo in the United States, has been with DeOliverra since 2003 and is the driving force behind her determination to stop this particular species from becoming extinct within the country.

Brown, a martial arts instructor and chef, has also acquired a shared passion for his companion’s project.

“It’s exciting!” he said. “Watching the property grow and having the opportunity to be involved in a project like this is exciting.”

Because the cost of this project could soar into the millions of dollars, DeOliverra is working with grant-writing resources like Wilkes and Lehigh Universities to gain as much funding as possible.

The “Woody Acres Avian Conservation Eco-Center” will not only work with endangered birds but also with other animals considered to be “people fascinators.” The center’s main focus is on rare birds but will also include custom-built observation trails, tour lodging, seminars and a gift shop, as well as other captivating creatures such as fancy chickens, peacocks, emus, water fowl, pheasants and kookaburra.

Among all this momentum, the center is moving forward at its attempt to gain the accreditation of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA).

“We will conform to the laws of a zoo and will not be a roadside attraction,” emphasized DeOliverra. “It is our mission to help sustain rare population through captive breeding management.

“People may not remember me after I’m gone,” DeOliverra added, “but when my birds wind up somewhere else and are protected here in the United States - that will be my legacy.”