Oakland Zoo $70 Million California Trails - 2015 Completion?

snowleopard

snowleopard

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Media blurb:

The $70 million project will extend into 60 acres of Knowland Park, with 20 acres of new exhibits and more than 30 acres of managed open space. Groundbreaking on the first phase, a $10 million, 17,000-square-foot veterinary hospital, is expected in the spring, with a scheduled opening in October 2012. The current veterinarian facility is 1,000 square feet.

Oakland Zoo's hugely ambitious "California" project:

California Project

The website posted above contains a wealth of material, including community input documents, details of community meetings, historical documents, news about the proposed gondola, discussion of animals to be included in the project (black bears, grizzly bears, tule elk, bison, eagles, cougars, jaguars, wolves, etc) and a wealth of informative material.


The FAQ link was updated in July and it is 5 pages in length:

http://www.itsyourzoo.org/images/stories/projects/california/FAQs_July012010.pdf
 
mweb08 said:
It is an interesting debate with people touting conservation on both sides.
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The hillside in question has not been "natural" since the Spanish began to graze cattle there hundreds of years ago. It is vegetated largely with non-native invasive species, and while coyotes and foxes may occasionally prowl there, so do feral cats, dogs, pigeons and the like. Not to mention the homeless encampments, pot-smoking (and cultivating!) teenagers etc. This is a very small patch of a vast swath of open space--the entire East Bay hillside ridgeline-- that has been well-protected for nearly 100 years. But it is parkland, not wilderness.

This is really all about "NIMBY-ism." That said, I do hope that Oakland pays greater attention to details when developing the new California exhibits. All of the exhibits built there in the past 15 years or so have been generally good ideas but without the finesse and final touches that take an exhibit from being adequate to excellent. The spectacular site they have to work with (featuring a panoramic bay view that rivals the famous Taronga Zoo vistas) demands a sensitive and thoughtful touch.
 
As a native Californian, I can't explain never having visited this zoo. Even after making several trips up there including one of my brothers weddings. Maybe this project would be more incentive for me. Oakland Zoo, a must on my list of future zoo visits.
 
I stumbled across an interesting blog that has intricate details of the California Project, including 2010 modifications. By scrolling down you can click on the exhibit layout with exact specifications in terms of the size of the enclosures, and the gondola line and overnight experience areas are included. There will certainly be some marquee animals as grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, cougars and jaguars will all be popular with visitors.

Oakland Zoo’s California exhibit | A Better Oakland
 
The first component of the expansion, a new animal hospital, is under construction. It looks like it will be a regional health care facility for injured wild California condors and mountain lions, as well as for the zoo's residents (which will include captive condors and mountain lions also with the new expansion).

Oakland Zoo breaks ground on veterinary hospital - SFGate
 
Does anyone know If they have already broken ground on the California expansion or if its happening soon since it targeted at a 2015 completion. Also are there any plans to on a new Chimp or African Veldt area as both are extremely outdated by now.
 
BayZoolvr said:
Does anyone know If they have already broken ground on the California expansion or if its happening soon since it targeted at a 2015 completion. Also are there any plans to on a new Chimp or African Veldt area as both are extremely outdated by now.
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It remains in limbo since proposition A1 failed at the ballot box. A couple of docents have confirmed that they're working on a new Chimp exhibit, but there's nothing official yet. They also indicated that the zoo would not be acquiring any other apes until a new habitat was in place for the Chimps.

And by African veldt, I assume you're referring to the giraffe enclosure? Nothing concrete, but I have heard that they're in the planning stages as well.
 
If anybody is still paying attention to Oakland Zoo's on again, off again California Trail expansion the East Bay Express has chimed in with an exhaustive piece of reporting. Check it out here.

Right now the zoo is looking at a 2015 state date, with a 2017 completion date.

East Bay Express said:
A number of key differences alarmed environmental groups. The proposed interpretive center had increased from a 7,500-square-foot, 1-story building covering 0.23 acres to a 34,305-square-foot, 3-story building, covering 0.36 acres. It would now include offices, in addition to a restaurant, classroom, gift shop, and exhibits. The zoo had also added a gondola attraction that would require 7 towers, and an overnight camping area that could accommodate about 100 people.

The footprint of the animal exhibits had also grown from 16.23 acres to 18.07 acres and had been substantially reconfigured such that the bulk of the exhibits had moved farther away from the existing zoo and deeper into the upper part of Knowland Park. That meant that many visitors to the park's remaining open space, including at some of the best viewpoints, would immediately see the zoo's attractions in the foreground when looking out at the bay.
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Given how amazing this exhibit will be, when/if it's complete, i feel like the San Francisco Zoo might as well give up on creating its North America section. Unless they go for different species like moose, pronghorn and bighorn sheep.
 
Buldeo said:
Right now the zoo is looking at a 2015 state date, with a 2017 completion date.
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Ground has officially been broken! According to email update I received the coming Winter months will see construction on the hilltop Visitor Center and the California Station in the Main Zoo, where you will board an electric gondola to California Trail when it opens in Summer 2018.


Follow along with construction updates at the official site here.
 
Buldeo said:
Ground has officially been broken! According to email update I received the coming Winter months will see construction on the hilltop Visitor Center and the California Station in the Main Zoo, where you will board an electric gondola to California Trail when it opens in Summer 2018.


Follow along with construction updates at the official site here.
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Thanks for the update. It's good to see that it is finally underway and headed towards a defined completion. The only animal element of the project that looks like has been changed from earlier plans is the elimination of beavers, but maybe that happened a long time ago. It will be exciting to see a major zoo exhibit about California.
 
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