Greg Hickman, the founder and chairman of the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, California, and Vietnam War veteran, died unexpectedly while fly-fishing on May 15.
Hickman was “enjoying his favorite hobby … at the time of his passing,” Debbie McGuire, co-founder and executive director of the wildlife rescue nonprofit, said in a statement. “The Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center is Greg’s lifelong project, and we plan on keeping his legacy going on for many years.”
McGuire told The Epoch Times Hickman died of a heart attack in Montana.
Greg Hickman was the first in California to receive his license as a wildlife rehabilitator in 1972. He started a wildlife rehabilitation center—known as the Alliance for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education (AWRE)—while he was working for the North Orange County School Districts Regional Occupation Program in Anaheim until the school district sold the property.
When veterinarian Joel Pasco asked for Hickman’s assistance with a young brown pelican in 1980, they became friends. Pasco joined AWRE as one of the licensed veterinarians to care for wild animals they rescued.
The two opened All Creatures Care Cottage—a veterinary hospital in Costa Mesa—in 1987, as a temporary home of AWRE.
During the 1990 American Trader Oil Spill, over 4,000 animals were sickened after 400,000 gallons of Alaskan crude oil spilled from a damaged oil tanker off the coast of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. Some of the oiled birds were taken to All Creatures Care Cottage for stabilization.
It was during the incident that Hickman met members of the newly formed Huntington Beach Wildlife Care and formed a partnership with them. The two nonprofits used money collected from the damages from the oil spill to build a wildlife rehabilitation center.
With the help of the California Department of Fish and Game Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the Southern California Edison, the two nonprofits used money collected from the damages from the oil spill to build a wildlife rehabilitation center in 1998—the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center, which remains open seven days a week all year-round responding to emergencies involving wildlife.
Since its opening, the center has responded to dozens of oil spills to help rescue and eventually release thousands of animals and birds affected.
Hickman is also remembered for his courage and service as a PT boat captain for the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, according to McGuire.
“We are thankful for Greg’s vision and diligence to create this project,” McGuire said. “We are going to miss his presence tremendously and will work tirelessly to keep the project going for many years to come.”
Hickman is survived by his son, Paul, McGuire said. When asked if Paul would be a part of the future of the care center, she said she was unsure, but it wasn’t likely for now.
Details on his memorial will be announced at a later time, according to McGuire.
