Frosty the snow goose, Ember the red fox, Chevy the beautifully striped corn snake. All are permanent residents of the Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford, whose lives were saved by its staff.
Started more than five decades ago with a single rescued great horned owlet that lived in the founding family’s garage, the 200-acre refuge in Burlington County now treats more than 6,000 wild animals each year.
“We’re fully equipped to care for any rescued animals people bring to us,” says executive director Mike O’Malley, stressing that the refuge does not get overwhelmed by its number of intakes. “We’re grateful that these good people care enough about animals who need our help.”
The refuge was founded in 1957 by Betty Woodford, with support from her daughter, Jeanne A. Woodford, then a teenager, and Betty’s husband, Jim Woodford. The refuge sits on a pristine woodland property that the family originally purchased in 1951 to serve as a summer getaway. Today, the land is worth millions and could support at least 200 new homes, were Jeanne willing to part with it.
She is not. Jeanne promised her mother that she’d do everything in her power to keep the refuge going.
“I used to go on canoe trips with my mother in the Pine Barrens. She and my stepfather, both of them environmentalists and animal rescuers and caregivers, were my inspirations,” says Jeanne. “Whenever people ask me what motivated me to keep the refuge going, my answer is ‘My mother made me do it.’”
In 1981, the refuge was incorporated as a nonprofit. Sixteen years later, Jeanne applied for and received a New Jersey Green Acres grant to legally protect the treasured open space and all of its buildings. Jeanne donated every inch of the land to the refuge so it could continue as an intake center for injured, orphaned, abandoned and sick animals.
The refuge is a combination hospital (built in 1986), release center for healed animals, and permanent living quarters for animals that can’t be returned to their natural settings due to physical limitations. Some of the wildlife cannot be released because they were formerly illegal pets that had learned to rely on humans for food and shelter, like the refuge’s resident corn snake, Chevy.
Photo: Courtesy of Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge/Danielle Gareau
Veterinarians are called in as needed; everything else is accomplished by about 20 devoted full-time and part-time staff members, a team of licensed wildlife rehabilitators, and around 250 highly trained volunteers.
“Around-the-clock care is provided for our hospitalized animals,” says Lisa Franco, the refuge’s communications director and grant writer. “For example, baby birds need to be fed every 30 minutes.”
From 10 am to 4 pm each day, visitors are welcome to explore the grounds, hike the trails, and meet the more than 60 furry, feathery, or scaly residents.
The animals are referred to by staff as wildlife ambassadors because they provide visitors with lessons about nature, conservation and the species onsite.
Permanent residents include Frosty the snow goose, brought in with an incurable wing injury by a good Samaritan from Jobstown.
Ember the red fox was found, orphaned and with a fractured leg, in Cookstown. A Woodford-affiliated veterinarian set the leg, but Ember couldn’t sit still long enough for it to heal properly.
Tommy the eastern box turtle was improperly cared for as a pet and developed metabolic bone disease that caused damage to his shell, beak and nails. Pre-Woodford, he also lost a back leg in an attack by a predator who noticed that Tommy couldn’t fully close his shell.
Phoebe Muffay the skunk had been illegally bred as a house pet, and her scent glands had been removed.
Many birds living at the refuge were brought in by animal lovers who had found them injured after being struck by vehicles. Ursula the black vulture from Atlantic County had suffered a fractured wing, while Clementine the eastern screech owl had suffered head trauma.
“When you see the suffering that goes on, like an owl hit by a car and the driver keeps going, your mind tells you, This is what you need to do. And you do it. There’s no choice. The animal needs help,” says Jeanne.
Good Samaritans and animal rescuers bring animals to the refuge, including longtime rescuer Diane Harrell of Newfield, Gloucester County. She remembers receiving a call from a woman in Pittsgrove who had found a dead mother opossum in her backyard, with eight crying babies clinging to her, all desperate to nurse.
The woman frantically called around until she was referred to Harrell, who, with her husband in tow, picked up the animals and brought them to Woodford Cedar Run, where they were cared for until they could safely be released into the woods.
The refuge, which receives no government funding, operates solely on grants, donations and entrance fees. The Nature Center, the first stop for visitors, includes a gift shop offering animal-related items like songbird hair pins, owl earrings, T-shirts, books, toys and educational materials. Proceeds also support the refuge’s environmental-education and habitat-conservation missions.
Gifts of refuge membership and “adoptions” (financial support) of animals living at the refuge may be purchased.
Entry is $10 for adults, $5 for children aged 4-12, and free of charge for children aged 3 and under. Memberships include unlimited free visits, except for special events, which are discounted for members.
Birthday parties can be held at the refuge, and a variety of events take place year-round, including guided winter evening hikes; brunches with wildlife rehabilitators; seasonal festivals; day camps; campfires and stargazing events led by educators; and scavenger hunts. (Visit cedarrun.org/events for a calendar.) In addition, the refuge provides educational programs for more than 30,000 students and scouts each year.
For those needing to drop off an injured animal, the Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital (6 Sawmill Road, Medford) is open daily, including holidays, with a 24-hour drop-off for injured, sick or orphaned wild animals. Let the staff know you’re en route by calling 856-983-3329, extension 107.
O’Malley says the refuge also encourages people “to call us if they have any questions about animal care.”
Today, at 83 years old, Jeanne A. Woodford is president emeritus of the refuge’s nine-member board of trustees. She still keeps a big net in her car in case she happens upon an animal in need of rescue. Just recently, she used the net to gather up an owl sprawled on a nearby road, his wing injured.
She knew just where to take the bird for treatment. After a few weeks, completely recovered, the owl was released back to the wild to continue living a full, free life.
Barbara Leap, a vegetarian for half a century and a lifelong animal lover and rescuer, is writing a book on animal rescue in Camden.
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