Your Guide To The Oregon Zoo Bond Measure

History of the Oregon Zoo Bond Measure

Over the past two years, the Metro Council, zoo leadership, The Oregon Zoo Foundation board, zoo staff and community leaders have been working together to develop a plan and vision for the future of the Oregon Zoo. Along the way, it has become apparent that the zoo is a local community treasure and an educational and economic asset to the region. The Oregon Zoo attracts more than 1.5 million visitors annually, employs 152 full-time equivalent regular staff, and 140 full-time equivalent temporary and seasonal staff. Meanwhile, hundreds of zoo volunteers donate tens of thousands of hours of free time annually in support of zoo programs. While receiving national awards for its success in protecting threatened and endangered species, the zoo has also provided generations of adults and families with invaluable hands-on learning about animals and conservation and rich, one-of-a-kind recreational experiences. However, key parts of the zoo have aged, become out of date and even worn out. The zoo opened at its current site in 1959 and has a limited 50-acre footprint that is challenged by geography. During the course of planning for the future, it has become more and more evident that portions of the zoo need updating, mending and replacing. To preserve the zoo's legacy of quality, and to continue to deliver the kind of experience the public deserves and expects, investments must be made promptly in some key areas of need.

On March 3, 2008, after two years of study, the collaborative effort of all the participants led the Oregon Zoo Foundation board to recommend a request to the Metro Council to refer a zoo bond measure to the voters. The bond measure is primarily intended to raise money to pay for zoo capital-improvement projects that will provide more humane care for zoo animals, protect animal health and safety, increase access to conservation education, conserve water and harvest storm water for reuse, and improve water quality.

Metro recognized the importance of involving federal, state and private partners -- as well as outside experts in science and zoology -- in planning for and establishing the zoo's needed capital investments. The bond measure referral represents the culmination of nearly two years of planning, with significant input provided by community members. The Zoo Future Vision Committee included several Oregon Zoo Foundation board members, as well as several independent citizens. As part of the process, the committee interviewed community stakeholders, ranging from neighboring nonprofit organizations (Oregon Children's Museum, Hoyt Arboretum) to the City of Portland parks commissioner. After the Future Vision Committee provided its report to the Metro Council, the Oregon Zoo Bond Committee then vetted the recommendations from the master plan and ultimately put forth a package of recommendations, which form the basis of the referral.

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