Aviary has reason to crow – national rating restored

September 16th, 2009 • Related • Filed Under

By Matthew D. LaPlante – The Salt Lake Tribune

The nation’s oldest and largest public aviary, which lost its Association of Zoos and Aquariums accreditation in 2006 after inspectors criticized its aging infrastructure, has reclaimed the AZA’s endorsement.

The quality of care of the 400 birds at Tracy Aviary in Salt Lake City was never called into question, and park director Tim Brown said that the AZA’s rejection actually made it harder to care for his avian charges. He noted that the loss of standing made it more difficult to recruit staff members, and many longtime donors wouldn’t give to an animal park that wasn’t accredited by the AZA.

“We had foundations tell us not to approach them until we are accredited,” he said.

But a day after the association’s accreditation commission voted to restore Tracy’s standing, Brown said the loss of the AZA’s endorsement did help spark changes at the park that will ensure a better situation for the aviary’s birds, and their human visitors, in the years to come.

The AZA’s rejection of the park, which is located on eight acres on the southwest corner of Liberty Park, was a key issue in a 2008 proposition in which Salt Lake County voters agreed to fund a $19.6 million bond for improvements.

The aviary had also taken matters into its own hands, opening a $1.1 million “Destination Argentina” exhibit just months after AZA inspectors had left in 2005 and adding a $450,000 renovation to it’s 3,600-square-foot flight cage earlier this year.

Those projects pale in comparison to what has been planned with the bond money — including a renovation to the aging Wilson Pavilion and a 10,000-square-foot walk-in exhibit featuring the birds of Central America. Brown said he believes that the AZA’s inspection team considered both what had been completed and what was to come when making their recommendations to the commission.

“The Aviary family — the staff, board, volunteers and supporters — has focused on this goal for three years,” Brown said. “We’ve discussed it at staff meetings and retreats, it’s front and center in our strategic plan and routinely mentioned in board meetings.”

Brown said that reclaiming accreditation “feels great — and it serves as yet another indication that a new era is underway at Tracy Aviary.”

He said accreditation will help the aviary recruit and retain quality staff and will help develop the park’s collection of birds “because now we can communicate with other zoos as a peer.”