David Mizejewski

Host of Animal Planet’s Backyard Habitat Show, Senior Manager, Habitat Education Programs

July 18, 2006

Dear Mr. Carmichael,
During our recent shoot of
Animal Planet’s Backyard Habitat television show, I had the great pleasure
to learn more about the City of Lake Forest’s Wildlife Discovery Center.
With the unique setting of the historical farm, the beauty of the Middlefork
Savanna, and, the incredible wildlife exhibits at the Wildlife Discovery
Center, particularly their Grass Is Rattling exhibit, I was thrilled
to experience such a tremendous and unique community and national resource.
Conservation education starts with exposure, and the exposure that people
get when they see a venomous reptile such as a rattlesnake up close,
in a safe manner, helps to break down the misconceptions that people
have about these important animals.

You do tremendous work in educating
the community about wildlife and habitat conservation and providing
a high quality experience for visitors to your facility and participants
in your programs. The animals are well cared for and appear to
be in perfect health, the displays showcase the animals in naturalistic
vivaria that mimic their natural habitat, and you and your staff are
passionate about educating people about the value of wildlife through
your resident raptors and reptiles. This work is crucial to instill
the sense of responsibility for our natural surroundings and fellow
creatures that is necessary to protect them for future generations.
Keep up the good work.

Sincerely,
David Mizejewski
Senior Manager, Habitat Education Programs

Stephanie Locher

Episode Producer, Backyard Habitat/Animal Planet

June 15, 2006

“For the hustle and bustle world
of a TV production crew, this place was like one-stop shopping. Everything
we needed to tell an informative, visually compelling story about the
animals on the Middlefork Savannah was right there at the Wildlife Discovery
Center. Of course, having a passionate expert like Rob Carmichael at
the helm didn’t hurt either! His commitment to the center, to the animals,
and to the belief that we really can coexist peacefully with wildlife
is as refreshing as it is necessary.”

Stephanie Locher
Episode Producer, Backyard Habitat/Animal Planet

Ray Pawley

Former Curator at Brookfield Zoo and currently an International Zoo Consultant

“Nowhere in the midwest,
not even in the big zoos, is there such a highly impressive collection
of venomous reptiles and certainly the largest public collections of
rattlesnakes I am aware of in the world.”

“WDC should be everyone’s destination to learn more about the global
world of reptiles and how they point the direction to urgent local/regional/national
and international conservation needs.”

“These reptiles, especially some of the venomous specimens, are
enormous, completely visible and you can see them close up–that’s a
real advantage to WDC visitors since this is not the case at most herpetological
exhibits!”

Ray Pawley,
Former Curator at Brookfield Zoo and currently an International Zoo Consultant

John Gramieri

Former Curator of Small Mammals and Reptiles, Lincoln Park Zoo

Not only does the Wildlife
Discovery Center help bring the beauty of nature to the community, but
it also serves as a welcome partner to other organizations such as ours
on matters of wildlife conservation and habitat protection. You
have a dedicated and gifted staff.

John Gramieri,
former Curator of Small Mammals and Reptiles, Lincoln Park Zoo

Linda Breuer

Director of Barnswallow, a Wild Bird Concern specializing in raptors

In all of our interaction with
other wildlife facilities, we have yet to encounter any group as professional,
informative or exciting as the Wildlife Discovery Center and Rob Carmichael.

Linda Breuer,
Director of Barnswallow, a Wild Bird Concern specializing in raptors

Dan Boehm

Area Supervisor, Small Mammals/Reptiles/Children’s Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo

I have had the pleasure of
visiting Rob’s facility several times and I have been impressed with
the standard of care that is provided to his animals and the level of
husbandry expertise that is employed. Rob has developed a mission
statement that encompasses all of the essential aspects of an
educational facility and has proven to do an outstanding job of accomplishing
those goals. The Wildlife Discovery Center has proven to provide
exceptional educational public programs and has done a great job of
getting the community involved in local conservation programs.
It also can’t be stated enough how valuable the center has been in
providing exceptional permanent housing for animals that needed to be
placed from a variety of sources including the USFWS confiscations.

Dan Boehm,
Area Supervisor Small Mammals/Reptiles/Children’s Zoo, Lincoln Park Zoo