Hogle Zoo sees bright future

After a record year, Hogle Zoo staff members are understandably proud of 2006 — they call it the "year of milestones" for the 42-acre park.

Hogle celebrated its 75th year, opened its big cat exhibit Asian Highlands, successfully raised baby orangutan Acara and achieved record attendance.

On face value, it would seem a challenge for the zoo to keep up with the highlights of 2006. But zoo director Craig Dinsmore isn't worried. He has a list of plans to keep that momentum going.

"I think we've raised the bar for Hogle Zoo, and I think the challenge is keeping it up," he said. "More people are coming and more people are experiencing what the zoo has to offer. We want to continue in that trend."

Dinsmore is marking his 10th year at the Salt Lake City zoo. During those years, he has helped change the face of the zoo. Hogle obtained $10.2 million in bond money for two state-of-the-art exhibits, regained accreditation with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, and formed a master physical and business plan.

When Dinsmore was hired on at Hogle Zoo in 1997 from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, all eyes were watching. He was replacing 32-year director LaMar Farnsworth, who is credited with building up Hogle's infrastructure.

Dinsmore was stepping into those shoes during a dark period in the zoo's history.

Just a year earlier, zoo management had come under heavy scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and various animal-protection groups during federal inspections. In a 1995 investigation, the USDA said the zoo committed 11 violations of the Animal Welfare Act from 1993 to 1994. Several animals at the zoo had died, including two giraffes that had slipped and fallen and two gazelles killed by coyotes that had broken into the zoo's perimeter fence.

The USDA said the zoo had poor living conditions for its animals and eventually named the zoo in a civil complaint. The zoo denied the claims, but eventually paid a $25,000 fine and completed necessary upgrades and training.

"When I came in, there was certainly some controversy," Dinsmore said. "Frankly, that was appealing to me. If I had come in here and seen a sense of desperation or hopelessness, I wouldn't have been interested. Instead, I felt a sense of pride, energy to be better and a real commitment on both the part of the board of directors and the zoo staff to be part of something really terrific."

So the zoo cleaned up its act and outlined future goals. First was earning back accreditation. Then came a master plan for new exhibits and infrastructure. Finally, Hogle developed a strategic business plan, something Dinsmore said was relatively unheard of for zoos at the time.