The Jackson Zoological Society is kicking into fund-raising mode full gear following its recent vote to relocate the zoo to Northeast Jackson.
Last week, the zoo board voted unanimously to begin investigating moving the park to LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, which is part of the LeFleur Museum District.
Plans are to study using a 25-acre site that is currently home to the LeFleur’s Bluff Golf Course.
“The next step is to raise funds for the next phase of planning, now that we know we want to look at a (specific) site,” said Jackson Zoo Executive Director Beth Poff.
“We’ll be concentrating on that and sharing our vision for the new park, as well as continue running the current zoo.”
Poff would like to see the first phase of a new zoo completed by 2028. To conduct a site development study, the society hopes to raise an additional $350,000. The group will need at least $50 million to build a new 25-acre park.
The 13-member board made the decision, citing declining attendance, aging structures and budget cuts, which have “caused the park to slowly fall behind other zoos of similar size in the areas of conservation and education,” according to a press release.
The board did not cite the zoo’s surroundings as the main problem, even though a study conducted recently named the zoo’s surroundings as its number one deterrent.
In 2016, the zoo brought on Schultz and Williams to determine whether donors would support a $15 million capital campaign to fund park improvements.
The study showed donors would not. “One-hundred percent of the people interviewed had concerns about donating to the zoo at its current location.”
The park is located at 2918 W. Capitol Street, in West Jackson.
It is surrounded by blight, including 17 dilapidated structures lining the roughly one-mile stretch of West Capitol running between I-220 and the zoo’s main entrance.
Additionally, the park is in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in the capital city, based on figures provided by the Jackson Police Department.
“In my heart, I hoped things would turn around where the zoo is, but the blight and roadways ... I didn’t see it happening at a quick enough pace,” Poff said. “We’ve been fighting downward attendance for so long. If there had been no zoo in Jackson at all, (Lefleur’s) would have been the site we picked.”
Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba was out on paternity leave last week and was not available for comment.
Since 2003, the number of visitors has dropped by nearly half, from 180,000 to 100,100 in fiscal year 2017.
With fewer visitors and contributions, revenues have dropped dramatically. Zoo staff has been cut to bare bones, and some popular exhibits, including the elephants, were shipped to another zoo.
Ward Seven Councilwoman Virgi Lindsay would like the zoo to stay put, but understands why zoo officials should pursue a new location.
“I really wish we could find a way to keep the zoo in its historic location, but if people are no longer comfortable going to the zoo because of its location, I understand,” she said.
Ward One Councilman Ashby Foote supports moving the zoo if it will improve attendance and bring more people to Jackson. However, he believes doing so will be challenging politically.
That fact is evidenced by struggles to relocate the zoo in Baton Rouge. In 2016, park officials there considered moving because of problems similar to Jackson’s. However, plans were cancelled after an outcry from Baton Rouge officials and the public.
The zoo is operated by the nonprofit Jackson Zoological Society. The park is located on land leased to it by the city. It has been located at its currently location for nearly a century.
The LeFleur Museum District is home to the Mississippi Children’s Museum, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame and Museum and Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum.”
The district is located near the heavily traveled Lakeland Drive and I-55 interchange.
The golf course is located on the south of Lakeland just past Cool Papa Bell Drive.
Northside developer Ted Duckworth says LeFleur’s Bluff is the “perfect location” and that the state should “start off by donating the land and funding infrastructure for (it).”
The nine-hole golf course is owned by the state and overseen by the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks (MWFP).
The department couldn’t be reached for comment.
Poff said MWFP “is very interested ... excited that we’re interested in moving over there.
“As far as how the state will handle all the legalities, such as whether they’ll lease the land or donate it, they haven’t begun to work that out,” she said.
The board considered three locations to relocate the park, including an undisclosed private property, as well as Buddy Butts Park at 6180 McRaven Rd.
All three sites are still located in the capital city.
A new zoo will mean larger habitats for animals, the ability to expand the animal collection to include more popular exhibits like lions and sloths, and increase the ability for the zoo to participate in a national Species Survival Plan.
“The top priority of the Jackson Zoological Society has been and always will be giving all visitors a world class zoo experience,” Society board president Jeffrey Graves said. “This is the culmination of decades of research and discussion, but is just the beginning.”
