Community survey to help shape the future of the Pueblo Zoo
Pueblo Zoo
and last updated 2021-01-21 20:59:49-05
PUEBLO â The Pueblo Zoo is putting together its master plan for the next 10 years, and it needs your help.
The zoo put together a community survey, so the public can give their opinion and help shape the future of the Pueblo Zoo. We have some ideas of what we want to see, but we want to make sure that it is something the public wants to see and where they would like to see the future of the zoo, said Abbie Krause.
After a strong 2019 in which more than 130,000 people visited Pueblo s Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, the center was off to another hot start in 2020.
Sangre de Cristo CEO Jim Richerson said 2020 started out “just great” for the nonprofit center as it seemed to be firing on all cylinders.
But then came the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Friday, March 13 we got the call from the county and the health department that basically said due to the (COVID-19) pandemic, we’re shutting down,” Richerson said.
“That first weekend was unbelievable how we had to man the phones, just canceling all kinds of things. We had two performances that weekend we had to cancel. We had a wedding. But there was nothing we could do.
The Pueblo Zoo is seeking public input as part of a master planning process that will outline the zoo’s priority projects and initiatives for the next decade or more.
Zoo officials have already identified some projects they will prioritize in ongoing master planning, but Abbie Krause, executive director of the city-owned zoo, said it’s important that Puebloans have a chance to weigh in.
“We’ve got some draft ideas, but it’s really important to have public input because it’s the public’s zoo,” Krause said.
“We want to make sure we’re meeting people’s needs, dreaming about creative opportunities in the future and also thinking about, ‘How do we fulfill our mission?’ … We’re trying to be strategic about this, so we have not just hopes and dreams, but a path forward to be able to fulfill them as far as funding.”