Seattle Parks and Recreation Superintendent Ken Bounds responded today to a ruling issued on Monday, July 1, 2002, by Meredith A. Getches, City of Seattle Hearing Examiner, concerning the Woodland Park Zoo's Long-Range Plan.

While she agreed with the City on the vast majority of issues in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), she did rule that the document had some inadequacies. Bounds is reviewing the ruling in detail and reviewing Parks' options. The goal is to get the document to the City Council as soon as possible.

" We will move forward quickly to respond to the findings in Ms. Getches' ruling," Bounds said.

The Long-Range Plan (LRP) was prepared over the last three years; the public process included numerous forums for public input. Seattle Parks and Recreation issued the Draft EIS in April 2001; the final version, which incorporated much public input, was issued in February 2002. In March, the adequacy of the EIS was appealed to the City Hearing Examiner; she held a public hearing on May 21-24, and her ruling was that the document needs to include a more refined traffic analysis and to include an alternative to the preferred plan that is more clearly a "no action" alternative.

The LRP, a physical development roadmap, is an update of the Zoo's original 1976 LRP. That plan pioneered the Zoo's state-of-the-art exhibitry and launched a revolution in the way animals are displayed not only at the Woodland Park Zoo, but at zoos around the world.

While the original LRP pioneered exhibitry, the updated plan aims to revolutionize how people use these exhibits and the rest of the zoo. It will adapt to changing conditions and needs that could not have been foreseen in the 1970s; it will place more emphasis on achieving a broader public education mission; and it will place more emphasis on wildlife conservation and visitor services.

New physical developments include the completion of long-needed facilities for jaguars, wild dogs, and tigers. The zoo opened the African wild dog exhibit last Friday, June 28. The region's burgeoning growth over the past 20 years has had impacts on the zoo's neighbors; the updated LRP improves infrastructure to accommodate this growth while preserving the zoo's unique character, design philosophy and ecological emphasis.

For more information about the Woodland Park Zoo's Long Range Plan, please call Jim Maxwell at 206-684-4066, or visit the web site at www.zoo.org.

Accredited by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, award-winning Woodland Park Zoo is famed for pioneering naturalistic exhibits and setting a standard for zoos all over the world. With conservation, education and excellent animal care at the core of the zoo’s mission, the zoo is helping to save endangered species in Washington state and around the world including tree kangaroos, snow leopards, red-crowned cranes, African wild dogs, western pond turtles and Oregon silverspot butterflies. By inspiring visitors and others to care and act, Woodland Park Zoo is making a difference in our planet’s future.

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