{"id":33762,"date":"2025-11-03T22:45:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T22:45:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/33762\/"},"modified":"2025-11-03T22:45:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T22:45:14","slug":"after-months-of-uncertainty-north-texas-wildlife-center-finds-a-new-home-in-plano-local-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/33762\/","title":{"rendered":"After Months Of Uncertainty, North Texas Wildlife Center Finds A New Home In Plano – Local Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

A city zoning issue nearly shut the doors, but community support helped the wildlife nonprofit secure a permanent facility<\/p>\n

The North Texas Wildlife Center has secured a new intake facility in Plano after months of uncertainty and a public fundraising push. The nonprofit announced the milestone Oct. 31 in a letter to supporters<\/a> and a live stream on Facebook, calling it \u201ca pivotal moment for our organization, the wildlife we serve and members of the community we help,\u201d according to the center\u2019s post.<\/p>\n

The facility will undergo renovations before opening to visitors. The organization plans to remain open for intake at its current site until the move is complete.<\/p>\n

Why It matters<\/p>\n

The win follows a turbulent summer in which the city of Plano told the nonprofit it could no longer operate <\/a>its high-traffic intake site in a residential neighborhood. The notice set a deadline to relocate and spurred a rapid campaign to raise funds and identify a compliant location.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a place now,\u201d President Rebecca Hamlin said in a live update, as reported by FOX 4<\/a>. She added that the team will \u201ctear down every custom location\u201d at the current site and rebuild habitats at the new address before baby season returns.<\/p>\n

How They Got Here<\/p>\n

\"north-texas-wildlife-center-574312804_1155660603332188_1026492423252753680_n\"
\nPhoto: North Texas Wildlife Center <\/p>\n


\n\tThe deadline: On June 28, Plano informed<\/a> the center that while permitted, the residential setting no longer fit zoning rules due to rising foot traffic.

\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThe response: The nonprofit launched a fundraising drive with a $250,000 goal and rallied volunteers, donors and local media coverage to accelerate the search.

\n\t\u00a0
\n\tThe result: By late summer, pledges met the goal. On Oct. 31, the center confirmed a new facility in Plano and thanked the city \u201cfor being so compassionate, supportive, and kind during this transition,\u201d according to the center\u2019s Facebook caption. <\/p>\n

Years Of Wildlife Advocacy<\/p>\n

Founded in 2013 as Dallas Wildlife Center, NTXWC<\/a> expanded to serve the greater North Texas region. The organization now supports three core communities: the wildlife it rehabilitates, members of the public who find animals in need and other rehabilitators who rely on the center\u2019s resources.<\/p>\n

Its team includes licensed veterinarians, wildlife specialists and volunteers led by founder and board chair Mela Singleton. According to their website<\/a>, Singleton, who began her wildlife journey after taking in an orphaned squirrel, stated that she founded the center after realizing the region lacked a dedicated rehabilitation facility. \u201cNobody has done it yet,\u201d a fellow rehabber told her. Her response: \u201cChallenge accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>\n

\"north-texas-wildlife-center-_1059097859655130_7366423500717195131_n\"
\nPhoto: North Texas Wildlife Center <\/p>\n

\u200b\u200bIf You Want To help<\/p>\n

Renovations will focus on privacy fencing, ADA access at entrances and restrooms and rebuilding enclosures, according to the center\u2019s letter. The nonprofit aims to complete the move by early 2026, ahead of the spring surge of orphaned and injured wildlife, FOX 4 reported.<\/p>\n

According to the center\u2019s Facebook announcement, the team seeks volunteers for renovations and setup as it prepares the new site. Anybody interested in helping can sign up for painting, moving and setup through a form the center shared<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Don’t miss anything Local. Sign up<\/a> for our free newsletter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A city zoning issue nearly shut the doors, but community support helped the wildlife nonprofit secure a permanent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33763,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[21478,160,162,161],"class_list":{"0":"post-33762","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-plano","8":"tag-new-homeopening-soonnorth-texasplanonewsletter_allnorth-texas-wildlife-centernew-center","9":"tag-plano","10":"tag-plano-headlines","11":"tag-plano-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33762","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}