2013 annual plan to the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation December 3, 2012

Public Comment period: December 3, 2012 through December 31, 2012 Please direct comments: Attention: Annual Plan to [email protected]

This annual plan for Woodland Park Zoo for 2012 is submitted to the Superintendent of Parks and Recreation as specified by the Zoo Operations and Management Agreement between the City of Seattle and the Woodland Park Zoological Society. The purpose of the annual plan is to briefly describe and highlight major programs and programmatic changes, capital improvements or other key issues for the coming year.

Public Participation and community comments: Submitted annually in the fourth quarter, the plan is available for review and comment on the zoo website, http://www.zoo.org/annual-reports as well as in hard copy at the zoo’s administrative offices, 601 N. 59th St. Copies are provided as well to the zoo’s Neighborhood Liaison Committee , which consists of representatives of the neighboring community councils and other groups.

Overview and major goals

Woodland Park Zoo in 2013 will open the first phase of a new Asian tropical forest exhibit. The new exhibit, which will renovate and expand the oldest part of the zoo, eventually will house sloth bears and Malayan tigers, doubling the space of the current tiger and Asian bear area.

The first phase, which currently is under construction and is scheduled to open in the spring, will include Asian species such as small-clawed otters and birds, along with a children’s play area. Fundraising is continuing for the second phase of the exhibit, now expected to open in the spring of 2015.

Other significant events and changes at the zoo in 2013 include:

 Additions to the animal collection.  An expansion of animal conservation programs, both in the Northwest and internationally.  Changes and improvements to the zoo’s member magazine, MYZOO.  A new commissary program to produce food for the zoo animals in a central location.  A new plan for interpretation, signage and wayfinding at the zoo.

Capital projects

The new Asian forest exhibit, when finished, will be the most significant expansion of the zoo’s exhibits since the Trail of Vines was completed in 1996. In addition to the otter area, the exhibit will include an aviary for Asian birds and a new children’s play area.

The exhibit is designed to evoke the lush, semi-evergreen rainforests of Southeast Asia, incorporating animals and influences from lowlands to highlands, from Assam in northeast India through peninsular Malaysia, with animal species appropriate to the region.

Specifically, this new tiger forest will emulate a forest reserve in the area of Taman Negara National Park, in the central mountains of peninsular Malaysia. This area is a logical focus for several reasons, including the fact that Woodland Park Zoo is committed to long-term conservation work in the area. In Malaysia, forest reserves often surround national parks, just as American national forests often surround national parks. Taman Negara National Park and its surrounding forest reserves are the location of a conservation partnership Woodland Park Zoo is establishing in the area.

The new exhibit will use the physical setting of the Taman Negara park-reserve complex as a template within which to tell the stories of human use and resource extraction, wildlife protection, and educational and research initiatives.

The dominant geology of the exhibit will represent limestone karst, a sedimentary rock that is common in Southeast Asia. The ecology represented will pay tribute to one of the most heavily forested regions in the world, with some of the greatest biodiversity. Much of the exhibit will be planted as forest or forest-edge, with at least some of the trees simulating diptocarps (the dominant tree group of SE Asia) along with bamboos, ferns, flowering plants and other vegetation characteristic of Asian forests.

The second phase of the exhibit also will include sloth bears and Malayan tigers, as well as two small buildings with views into the exhibit. One will serve as a conservation action center, with the ability to house interpretive displays about efforts to save Malayan tigers and other species, and the second will be used for interpretation and education programs.

Additional capital projects include replacement of the roofs in the animal hospital and zoo commissary, replacement of the giraffe corral, electrical and facility upgrades to be made in preparation for 2014 accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The zoo also will incur some expense in the permitting process for a proposed 180-space expansion of the Inner North parking lot. The 2013 city budget has set aside $2 million as the city’s 75 percent share of the project, although final approval from the City Council is awaiting environmental review and permit approvals.

Operations

Although a final budget for 2013 has not yet been approved by the Woodland Park Zoo board of directors, the proposed operating expense budget for 2013 is $35 million, an increase of 3.2 percent over 2012. Increased expenses include an average pay increase of 2.25 percent, benefit increases, a slight increase in staffing and increased expenses for education programming. Capital costs associated with the Asian forest and some smaller projects total about $4.3 million.

Revenues are expected to increase by 2.1 percent, including estimated attendance of 1,155,000. Revenues increase a $1 increase in adult ticket prices and a 25-cent increase in children’s tickets.

The zoo plans to centralize most of the animal feed preparation and distribution to enhance consistency, reduce waste and streamline work involved in feeding the animal collection. This effort will involve renovations to the current Commissary and changes to current protocols and work assignments, with the goal of improving nutrition for the animal collection.

Early in 2013, zoo staff will begin a review of the new winter WildLights event to plan for the second year of operations. Completion of a new central path at the zoo – part of the construction for the Asian forest exhibit – will allow an expanded operation with a circular path in 2013.

Animal management

New species included in the Asian forest exhibit, in addition to small-clawed otters, include a number of bird species: the red-billed leiothrix, common shama thrush, Nicobar pigeon, golden-crested mynah, collared finch-billed bulbul and Asian fairy bluebird.

In 2013, the zoo will continue with plans to build a breeding facility for Asian box turtles in the Day Exhibit in order to focus on breeding two to three highly endangered turtle species. The zoo also has begun planning efforts to evaluate future opportunities regarding the elephant herd and facilities.

Additions expected to the mammal collection include additional patas monkeys, wallaroos, red-flanked duikers and a young female Malayan tapir to enhance the managed-breeding program. New species may also include the red-rumped agouti, a large South American rodent.

New bird species will include Baikal teals, brown-eared pheasants, toco toucans, paradise tanagers, violaceous euphonia and Guira cuckoo.

Reptiles and amphibians to be added include a pair of endangered Burmese brown tortoises and a male endangered Aruba island rattlesnake.

In addition to these new species, the zoo anticipates some significant births and hatchings in 2013, including the following species: ocelot, jaguar, Bennett’s wallaby, common wallaroo, Matschie’s tree kangaroo, sloth bear, Chilean pudu, giraffe, red- flanked duiker, Humboldt penguin, red-crowned crane, Chilean flamingo, Egyptian tortoise, and black-breasted leaf turtle.

Field conservation

The zoo’s field conservation department will inaugurate a new program for Northwest species in 2013 as well as increase the base of support for international partners.

A new “Living Northwest” program will better highlight the zoo’s local species- recovery projects and strengthen its regional conservation leadership role in Washington State. The Living Northwest program will encourage and include working with local communities, schools, scientists, conservation colleagues, and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

As part of the zoo’s new Asian tropical forest exhibit, the field conservation department has formed a partnership with a Panthera, an international organization dedicated to saving cat species, and the government of Malaysia.

Working with them, Woodland Park Zoo will focus efforts on conserving tigers in Peninsular Malaysia. The zoo and Panthera will invest $1 million in protecting Malayan tigers over the next decade.

Woodland Park Zoo's flagship field conservation project is the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP), which is working to protect wildlife habitat and local communities in Papua New Guinea. The mission of TKCP is to foster wildlife and habitat conservation and support local community livelihoods in Papua New Guinea through global partnerships, land protection, and scientific research.

Beginning in 2013, this long-term effort will launch a new Non-government organization (NGO) to oversee management of the 187,000 acre area saved by the TKCP in cooperation with the government in Papua New Guinea and local land owners.

Over the next few years, the NGO will work with villagers to produce an integrated plan for future land uses.

Also in 2013, the zoo’s field Conservation department will collaborate with the Snow Leopard Trust on a new field project in Kyrgyzstan. The mountainous regions of Kyrgyzstan are a crucial corridor for snow leopards between the northern populations in Russia, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan with the rest of the range countries to the west and south. Poaching and mining are critical threats to snow leopards in the area, and the newly launched collaboration will include on-the-ground efforts in community based conservation programs (livestock insurance, snow leopard enterprises), research, monitoring, and educational outreach in order to protect and preserve the population.

Education

Education programs at the zoo are integral to the overall mission of inspiring and cultivating an informed community of conservation stewards. In 2013, the education department will focus its fundraising and new program development efforts in the following areas:

Early Learning: The department will double the number of backpacks available for checkout in its backpack exploration program. They also will form an early childhood advisory group.

Zoo Experiences: Thanks to continued funding from The Boeing Company, the zoo will double the number of presenters available in this program.

Youth Programs: Beginning in January, the zoo will add Pacific Middle School in the Highline School District to its highly successful ZooCrew program, which is designed for underserved middle school students. The program will continue at its current three sites in the Seattle district. ZooCorps, volunteer and internship program for high school age students, will increase the opportunities available for high school students in the areas of conservation and climate change leadership. Some new activities that will be added to the program include: amphibian monitoring training and field work, participation in a regional youth climate change leadership conference in February, and development of a new climate change focused mobile educational station.

Education staff are leading an effort to redesign the zoo’s interpretive planning, signage and wayfinding, and other communications with guests not only on the zoo grounds but as they are planning their visit. Working with Seattle-based consultants, a new interpretation plan is scheduled for completion in May.

Volunteers

Woodland Park Zoo will host the Association of Zoo and Aquarium Docents (AZAD) Annual Conference September 19-22. AZAD is a growing, international, not-for-profit association whose purpose is to facilitate communication and the exchange of information between zoo and aquarium docents.