Marine Mammal Center looks for new home in SLO County. Where could it move?
The Marine Mammal Center may have found a new home.
For more than 20 years, the nonprofit organization has rehabilitated sick and injured marine mammals at its field office in Morro Bay, Marine Mammal Center chief external relations officer Jeff Boehm said.
Then, about a year ago, property owner Vistra Corp. told the Marine Mammal Center it would have to leave the facility by the end of 2026.
About six months ago, the Marine Mammal Center started a preliminary discussion with the Cayucos Sanitary District about moving into the Cayucos Water Reclamation Facility, Boehm said.
The facility is ideal because it’s located in a cool, coastal environment that supports the health of marine mammals, it’s close to the rescue sites of many of the center’s patients, and the majority of the center’s staff and volunteers live on the North Coast, he said.
Meanwhile, the Cayucos Sanitary District and the Marine Mammal Center both believe in conservation.
“There’s a synergy between the mission of the Sanitary District and our mission, and that is around conservation of resources,” Boehm said. “We manifest our work in tremendously different ways, but there’s a nice connection there.”
So far, the center and the Sanitary District have explored the potential of a lease, and the center started a design for the sanitary district to review — but neither party has committed to the project.
“We are, as I said, hopeful with the Sanitary District, but we also want to have other ideas in our hip pocket,” he said.
Boehm encouraged the community to reach out to the Marine Mammal Center if they identify properties with water, power and sewer connections; outdoor space for the animals; space to store equipment and vehicles; and a coastal environment.
“We’ve been the benefit of the eyes and ears of members of the public in the past, and hoping we can continue that, even as we work earnestly towards something with the Sanitary District,” he said.
