Your Guide to the Oregon Zoo Bond Measure

Updating and installing energy- and water-saving measures

Most of the zoo's infrastructure dates back to the 1950s and '60s. Literally millions of gallons of water per year would be saved by replacing and updating the zoo's water-distribution system. An updated system would include a central-plant piping system, on-site wastewater management and water storage for reuse and recycling. The new system should be serviceable for the next 50 years. Installing new technologies for on-site energy generation would reduce energy consumption.

Providing more indoor and outdoor space

The indoor and outdoor elephant spaces are limited, providing little space for the animals to walk and exercise. Zookeepers provide daily doses of exercise and stimulation, but elephants have complex needs that include frequent activity and the stimulation of exploring and interacting with their environment.

This project would provide better conditions for elephants short-term and long-term. The elephants' space would increase from 1.5 acres to 6 acres and would include more natural features. The 49-year-old elephant barn would be replaced with a larger building.

Installing a modern filtration system

Because of their oily feathers, penguins need a constant source of running water to reduce surface scum and keep the exhibit pool clean. Installing a modern filtration system that recycles water for the 25,000-gallon penguin pool would reduce water usage by 80 percent, saving more than 7 million gallons of water per year. The design of the penguinarium, built in 1959, has limited the zoo's ability to use new water-conservation technology.

Saving millions of gallons of water with upgrades to hippo habitat

Because hippos defecate in water, the zoo must dump and refill its 36,000-gallon exhibit pool and two holding pools on nearly a daily basis to protect the animals from harmful bacteria. A modern water-filtration system would cut water usage by 80 percent, saving 4.8 million gallons a year, while ensuring the hippos' health and safety. Waste filtered from the water would be composted for use in the zoo's gardens.

Adding dedicated space for conservation education

Dedicated space for programming in a Conservation Discovery Zone would offer more space for camps, classes and other hands-on learning opportunities for the 100,000 adults and kids who utilize these programs each year. It would also provide space for bathrooms and traveling and temporary exhibits, and would facilitate the safe arrival and departure of groups and camp kids.

Replacing concrete with pools, more space and more humane conditions

The current polar bear exhibit is almost entirely concrete, and its surface temperature reached more than 100 degrees last summer. The exhibit is basically the same footprint of the original built in 1959. In the current space, neither land nor pools meet standards established for zoo polar bears. The remodel would provide cooler temperatures and more humane conditions by removing concrete and adding land and pool space.

Replacing the zoo's 45-year-old animal hospital and quarantine facilities

The zoo's veterinarians are top-notch, but they are working in 45-year-old facilities that have failed to meet the standards of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Current clinical spaces are cramped and lack controls for minimizing disease transmission from animals to humans, as well as between animals. A new facility would include specialized holding areas for various types of animals, from small birds to large carnivores. Other features, such as heated and rubberized flooring, would increase animal safety and comfort. Enclosures would be designed to reduce stress for hospitalized and quarantined animals, while improved air management would minimize the risk of disease transmission.

Providing space to fly

The endangered condor, last sighted in Oregon more than 100 years ago, will be seen in flight once again. Since 2003, the zoo has been one of only four facilities in the country to successfully breed the Pacific Northwest-native birds, which have previously been inaccessible to the public. The exhibit, populated with birds that are not releasable into the wild, would replicate the condor's former Oregon habitat.

Replacing plain and sterile areas with trees, rocks and water

Of all the animals at the zoo, primates are the most intelligent and most in need of large complex spaces. The zoo's primates reside in small, outdated facilities. Behind-the-scenes spaces are too small, mechanically failing and inadequately ventilated. The indoor spaces are plain, sterile and cage-like. A rebuilt exhibit would improve conditions for the animals.