This week, I had the opportunity to attend the American Zoo & Aquarium (AZA) Annual Conference with over 3,400 other zoo professionals, conservationists, academics, and others from all over the world. It’s not the same conference that I first attended some 30 years ago, but there are still more opportunities to learn new information than time allowed. With multiple concurrent sessions, one must pick and choose what best suits the needs of their institution.

At a conference this large, one is lucky to catch up with old friends unless they can accidentally run into them in a hallway or a meet up at one of the sessions. But running into old friends and making new contacts is an important part of having the zoo represented at these meetings. With so much change to come for the Roosevelt Park Zoo in the next couple of years, it is going to be important to ensure that we have resources to help us deal with unforeseen challenges.

The bottom line is that it is nice to be able to help when venturing into the unknown, as well as the known, when you start running into roadblocks. The conference provides information on animal management, education, conservation, volunteers, promotions, events, and even exhibit design all intended to help colleagues improve their own facilities. Even for those that have been in the business for decades, there is always new information for them to glean or to share with others.

With the Amur Leopard Forest habitat behind the Zoo, it is now looking ahead to the construction of the African Plains Building and the start of the MI-7 phase of the flood mitigation project. Both are expected to start later this fall. Both will have a tremendous impact on the zoo as we prepare for new construction at the giraffe exhibit and make plans for animals like the zebras to relocate for flood mitigation work. We have the challenge of communicating all the changes to the community and guests visiting the zoo. We are looking at utilizing an army of volunteers to help explain what is going on and explain what comes next and the vision of the final campus once all work is eventually completed.

While some of the financial responsibilities will fall on the MI-7 Project, there are other parts of the coming changes that will have to be funded by the zoo through fundraising and special events. Information gained at the conference can be useful to meet all these challenges along with many more we will face moving forward.

There is never a good time to be away from the zoo but if this time away helps us through some of the bumpy roads ahead, it will be worth the time. Just as we work to get staff to various workshops and meetings designed to help them grow in their animal care skills, managers need to be involved in these conferences helping them to improve their skills and ability to work in an ever-changing environment. But, as much as I enjoy getting away for a few days to learn new information and see old friends, I am just as excited to get back to Minot and one of the best zoos I’ve known.