Search
Close this search box.

New ‘Peli-pad’ habitat unveiled to support shorebird rehabilitation in Navarre

The funds provided by Saltwater Restaurants, Inc.'s S.E.A. Initiative will assist with the treatment costs at Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge where trained specialists work to help pelicans and shorebirds heal from their injury and safely return to their environment. 

Earlier this year, Saltwater Restaurants, Inc. donated $10,000 to Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge (ECWR) to build a shorebird rehabilitation habitat and support the rehabilitation costs for shorebirds that have become injured or orphaned along the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Panhandle area.

  • The donation is a part of Saltwater Restaurant’s ongoing S.E.A. Initiative that assists in programs that support beach conservation and welfare campaigns along the Emerald Coast of Florida.

On November 18th, many of the Saltwater Restaurants team, staff and ECWR officially dedicated the habitat “The Saltwater Restaurant’s Peli-pad.”

“ECWR was honored to provide a behind-the-scenes tour to our community partners who came to dedicate the Peli-pad,” said Crystie Baker, Executive Director ECWR. “We were even able to move in its first patient, a Royal Tern, during the Saltwater representatives’ tour, which was a great aspect for them to witness. They were able to see firsthand how an animal must undergo various stages of rehabilitation before returning to the wild, which is the ultimate goal of ECWR’s wildlife work.”

The funds provided by Saltwater Restaurants, Inc.’s S.E.A. Initiative will assist with the treatment costs at Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge where trained specialists work to help pelicans and shorebirds heal from their injury and safely return to their environment. 

“Our refuge center treats over 200 shorebirds annually and the average cost for rehabilitation for one of these birds’ can be up to $75 a day for up to 14-days depending on their injuries and care,” said Denise Song, Grants and Donor Manager for ECWR. “The support from Saltwater Restaurants will help fund the medications and professional veterinary attention needed specifically for our brown pelicans, which make up more than half of the shorebirds brought to our center each year.”

Modern threats to brown pelicans and seabirds include:

  • Oil spills and pollution
  • Human disturbance of nesting colonies
  • Entanglement in fishing gear
  • Swallowing fishing hooks or debris
PELICAN: Meet Al. He’s a brown pelican that was recently rehabbed and released at The Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island by the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge. Al was abandoned and extremely malnourished when he came to the Wildlife Refuge. Thanks to help with the rehabilitation costs from Saltwater Restaurant Group, he was released back into the wild. Here is the incredible journey.

Additionally, the funds from will help add signage along local piers for the rescue hotline and helpful instructions for when people come across an injured or entangled seabird or animal. 

“The Gulf of Mexico is without a doubt our greatest resource,” said Misty Rae Ruthrauff, Director of Marketing for Saltwater Restaurants Inc. “Our restaurants are committed to giving back to our very own backyard that provides not just a beachfront dining experience, but also the fresh Gulf seafood we serve. The pelicans are an important part of that ecosystem and we want to make sure they are well taken care of.”

Join the conversation...

Continue reading 👇

Community Comments

“Would be nice to hear Matt Gaetz addressing his District 1 voters he left in dust. Unless I missed it somehow.”
Respond
“The Big U! The NMU supplied the unlicensed crew and when we lost this ship and its jobs and when U.S. Lines went bankrupt, we were on our way to...”
Respond
“Highschool is finna be more crowed now. We need another highschool not a middle or elementary school.”
Respond
“This is bittersweet. I spent a wonderful week in Cay Sal Banks on the Pilot in 2006. I will have to go pay her a visit soon....”
Respond
“I agree with Jerome. What will this accomplish since both ends are only 4 lanes?”
Respond
“The parking lot at McGuires would disappear along with the parcel that Destin purchased at the bridge.. Flooding on Okaloosa Island would close an expensive update to 98 , at...”
Respond
“This will not make a difference for traffic passing through the center of Destin along Rt. 98. The smart option is to complete the Brooks Bridge and intersection in Ft...”
Respond
“Doesn’t it still end up with 4 lanes on either end after bridges? Seems more aesthetic than a traffic plan. Which is nice too but does it increase the function?”
Respond
“It would be a money pit let’s sink it for the tourists who we don’t have enough of so more will come”
Respond