​“SAFE RIDES FOR SECOND CHANCES”.

On-Call Community Rescue for Animals

Volunteer based transport of sick and injured wildlife across six counties in the PNW.

Our Mission

OCCRA is a volunteer network that rescues and transports sick and injured wildlife in the North Willamette Watershed District to licensed care facilities on behalf of those members of the public who face transportation and safety limitations. We are committed to fostering a compassionate community that values wildlife through conservation, education and outreach. Our goal is to create opportunities for people to help wildlife thrive and expand our efforts statewide.

Video created by Emma Shapera

Year to DateSince Inception
Rescues82558
Volunteer Miles3,11445,151
Volunteer Hours7245,329

“Rescues”, “hours” and “miles” are “as reported”.

A "rescue" is defined as an OCCRA volunteer picking up wildlife and bringing it to a rehabilitation center. All rescues are reported to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

All other volunteer time is recorded as “hours and miles” only. This includes additional volunteers on rescues, missions resulting in "unable to locate", taking phone calls and all work required to run the organization. Hours and miles have historically been under-reported for a variety of reasons. For example, OCCRA phone lines are monitored 24/7 (over 8,000 hours annually) but these are only partially reflected in the data.

Safety Advisory - Injured Wildlife

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Wildlife Emergency or Concern?
Handling and transporting wild animals can be very dangerous. Please contact the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) first for any wildlife-related emergency or concern.

You can also reach out to the Bird Alliance of Oregon Wildlife Care Center at 503-292-0304 between 9 AM – 5 PM, 365 days a year. They can help assess the situation and advise on next steps.

If you're unable to reach either agency and it's after hours (between 5 PM and 9 AM), OCCRA may be able to assist on a case-by-case basis. We can help transport injured or sick wildlife to emergency care or provide humane euthanasia if necessary. Please text or call 971-645-3450 to see if we can assist or help connect you to the appropriate resources.
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How You Can Help

Volunteer

OCCRA receives daily requests to help capture and transport wild animals across six counties! Our volunteers help us fulfill our mission, we couldn't do it without them, and we would love to talk to you about joining our team!

Volunteer Application

Donate

OCCRA volunteers are onboarded with safety gear and uniforms, each new volunteer costs several hundred dollars in equipment. Your donations allow us to grow and help more animals. You can also follow links to our amazon wishlist on the "how to help" page.

Donate Now

UP-TO-DATE MAP OF OCCRA VOLUNTEER WILDLIFE RESPONSES IN THE *NORTH WILLAMETTE WATERSHED DISTRICT.

The *NWWD covers six counties. Zoom in to see the scope of volunteer wildlife call-outs to date.

Latest News

A Deep & Honest Conversation on Rescue Work

By dave | December 7, 2025

President Virginia Borden sat down with Jolene from Tails of Resilience and the Animal Rescue Hub for a powerful interview about the real side of rescue work — the parts that don’t always make the front page, but absolutely shape the heart, health, and longevity of everyone in this field. In the conversation, Virginia opens up about the candid, emotional, and often heavy…

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photo credit: Rich Kolbell

Bald Eagle Rescue & Release

By Virginia Borden | April 9, 2025

https://katu.com/news/arc-pdx/injured-bald-eagle-rescued-rehabilitated-and-released-back-into-hillsboro-park A Full Circle Moment for OCCRA and a Bald Eagle in Need In February, OCCRA volunteers Darci, Manon, and Katie responded to Rood Bridge Park in Hillsboro, OR, where a compassionate Good Samaritan was keeping watch over a grounded adult bald eagle in distress. Thanks to their quick action, the volunteers were able to…

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FOX12 Live Interview about the QUACKSAFE CAMPAIGN

By Virginia Borden | August 3, 2024

  Thank you FOX 12 Oregon Greg Nibler for talking to us about the QUACKSAFE Campaign on July 31st. Do you know of a drain that has had previous trapped duckling events? Please report on our website under (RESOURCES, QUACKSAFE).. to help us with the very important first part of this campaign, data collection! LINK…

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Follow Us on Instagram

@occra.pdx
764 Posts
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It’s baby bird season! 🐣

From owls to starlings to juncos, these are just a...

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Why are these eagles stuck together?! 🦅

It looks alarming, but this is actually normal...

It takes a village. This is some of ours ❤️🙏 We got to celebrate our volunteers and have our yearly meeting just in time for fledgling season (aka… our busiest, most chaotic time of year 😅) thank you to SW @steeplejackbeer for the use of the awesome mezzanine for our meeting space! We managed to wrangle a group photo, this is less than half of our full OCCRA response team… which is just wild to think about. This team has grown so much in ten years! #OCCRA . We’ll check in again soon, lots of admin stuff happening , supes busy. BRB 🙏❤️ 🚨 WANT TO SUPPORT OCCRA? 🚨 Your help saves wildlife! 💚 Every donation goes directly to outfitting, training, and rescuing animals in need. 🦉 Best way to give? Donate through our website (link in bio)! ✅ Venmo & PayPal take fees, so donating directly helps even more. Other ways to support: www.occrapdx.org 💸 Venmo: [@OCCRA (please make sure you confirm it is our account, last 4 digits of phone number are 3450)] 💰 PayPal: [OCCRA PayPal Link in bio] 📦 Amazon Wishlist: [Wishlist Link in bio] ✉️ Mail a check: [PO BOX 1291 - Oregon City, OR 97045] Every dollar makes a difference! Thank you for being a wildlife hero! 🙌💚 #SupportOCCRA #WildlifeRescue #DonateForWildlife #OCCRA vOCCRAnteer wildlifetransport oregonwildlife oregonvolunteers animalvolunteers wildlife 💙 SecondChanceForWildlife 🌿 BackToTheWild 💚 WildlifeVolunteers 🙌 VolunteerForWildlife 🌱 EcoWarrior 💪 🌍 📣 🦉 SaveWildlife 🦊 WildlifeConservation 🦡 🦆 ProtectWildlife 🐍 WildlifeMatters 🦅 AnimalRescue 📍 WildlifeRescueOregon 🏥 WildlifeRehab 🦜 RescueRehabRelease 🐾 WildlifeRescue 🦢 InjuredWildlif
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It takes a village. This is some of ours ❤️🙏

We got to celebrate our...

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You should never be able to walk this close to a wild beaver 🛑🚨

When...

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Lake Oswego — BABY SEASON HAS ENTERED THE CHAT 🐣🌲

We’ve got our first “GHOWLET”...

Wait… donkeys?! 🫏 We promise — we are not rescuing farm animals again 😅 But this rescue did come with some very cute coworkers… The first photo is from our friends over at @oregon_donkey_sanctuary in Oregon City, where a sanctuary sitter was busy caring for 40+ rescue donkeys (honestly… dream job??). When they found a tiny Anna’s hummingbird under a feeder — exhausted, not thriving, and unable to fly — they knew they needed backup. With their hands already very full (and probably a few donkeys asking for snacks), they gave us a call ❤️ Let’s be real… we don’t know anyone who isn’t obsessed with donkeys. And while we respond to over 95% of our callouts, some are extra special — because sometimes our volunteers get to meet some very sweet, very long-eared residents along the way. Annette @malidragon responded and safely transported this little hummingbird to @dovelewispdx . We’re hopeful they were able to make the next step to the @birdallianceoforegon @wildlifecarecenter for continued care and a second chance 🕊️ Tiny patient. Big team effort. And yes… still thinking about those donkeys. #OCCRA #WildlifeRescue #AnnasHummingbird #OregonWildlife #DonkeySanctuary RescueStory SmallButMighty
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Wait… donkeys?! 🫏

We promise — we are not rescuing farm animals again 😅
But...

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🦉 Not Santa. An owl.

Last week we received a cal about a barred owl...

🔗 Donate by clicking the Fundraiser link OR our link in bio — it takes just a click! (OCCRA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and all donations are tax-deductible.) ✨ OCCRA just surpassed 500 wildlife rescues. That’s 500 animals that were able to get help because someone called — and volunteers were ready to respond. Our team responds day and night across six counties, helping wildlife get safely contained and transported to professional care. With fledgling season approaching, rescue calls are about to increase dramatically as young birds leave the nest. Donations help us equip volunteers with the safety gear needed to do this work — things like gloves, nets, carriers, and rescue supplies. Every dollar goes directly toward supporting the volunteers behind these rescues. 🦉 500 rescues down — and many more animals will need help this year. Thank you for supporting wildlife and the people who show up for them.
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🔗 Donate by clicking the Fundraiser link OR our link in bio — it takes...

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🦉 Great Horned Owl Rescue – Beavercreek
OCCRA rescue #500

Last week our team responded...

✨ Big milestone for OCCRA yesterday! ✨ We held our Board of Directors meeting and officially completed a major leadership transition as we move into the next phase of OCCRA’s growth. It was a special moment to reflect on how far this organization has come since our original foundation in 2015, to our board establishment in 2021, to the massive amount of callouts and incredible team of over 50 volunteers we have today 🖤🦉 Image 1: Our founding OCCRA board in 2021 — Alicia Laing, Mike Borden, and Virginia Krakowiak — who helped get this program off the ground. Image 2: The board from 2023–2026 who guided OCCRA through huge growth, hundreds of wildlife rescues, and the partner agency relationships we've worked so hard to build. Virginia Borden, Joanne Cloud, Mike Borden, Alicia Laing, Darci Love, Shannon Dooley Image 3: Our new OCCRA Board of Directors as of March 5, 2026. ✨ New Officers President — Scotty Lombardi Vice President — Nikki Panos Secretary — Danny Rost Treasurer — Susie Sullivan 🦉 Board Members Virginia Borden Annette Blackwell Darci Love We also want to thank the board members stepping down from officer roles after years of dedication: Alicia Laing, Shannon Dooley, Joanne Cloud, and Mike Borden. 💛 OCCRA exists because of the incredible people behind it — from the founding board, to the leaders who helped grow the program, to every volunteer responding to wildlife calls across our six counties. This transition is a HUGE STEP for the future of our mission. Succession planning is how nonprofits grow and stay strong. The future is bright — and we’re just getting started. 🖤🦉✨ Thank you all for believing in this mission and your heart for our community and wildlife! @tattooedpdxgirl @malidragon @vettechdlove @thescottylombardi @tipsymonger @throughthestatic @susan.irene @duramater78 @virginiakrakowiak @misscrickets @mike.borden.5667
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✨ Big milestone for OCCRA yesterday! ✨

We held our Board of Directors meeting and...