A supporter of Knowland Park and its wildlife
Thanks to ALL who worked so hard to make it happen – donating materials, making signs, contributing speeches or music, leading cheers, waving signs, running our “shuttle,” sharing the information with others and turning out for a fun afternoon. It was truly inspiring to see people just keep coming and coming and coming as the crowd grew. Continue Reading →
After we reported last week about the zoo’s contractors drilling holes and damaging sensitive wildlife and plant habitat prior to receiving permits from the state and federal wildlife regulatory agencies, an alert Park supporter Friday found the zoo’s contracted biologist and a small crew with rakes trying to cover over the tire tracks, remove concrete from the holes, and cover them with imported dirt. When we arrived on the scene to video, the first worker said they were covering tire tracks, the second one said they were “pulling French Broom” which was ridiculous since a) they had no pulling wrenches, only rakes, and b) there was almost no broom visible, since our Knowland Park Coalition work crews have already pulled most of it out. Continue Reading →
Zoo executives intend to fence, grade, and develop this ridge. If they do, 56 acres of rare habitat and open space will be lost forever.
“I want our zoo to be responsible to the needs of animals and the environment—not just in the zoo itself, but in the adjoining natural open space of Knowland Park. I am deeply concerned about zoo executives’ plans to unnecessarily destroy important wildlife habitat as part of their planned ‘California Trail’ expansion project. I strongly encourage the zoo board to expand closer to existing zoo facilities and preserve the rare natural resources within Knowland Park. Don’t irreversibly tarnish the reputation of the zoo with an environmentally destructive development.”
Go to change.org and sign our 2 petitions — search for:
For more info and petition links, find us on Facebook or go to www.saveknowland.org
Friends of Knowland Park
The reporting clauses of the management contract between the CIty of Oakland and the East Bay Zoological Society
As you know, for years we have been asking the city for copies of the documents the zoo is required to submit annually under its management contract with the city – namely, a “capital improvement budget, spending plan, actual expenses and schedule describing its projected development for the current budget year and for the next 2 following years.” The zoo has never produced any of these materials. Instead, it periodically produces retrospective feel-good reports couched in broad general terms, so it has been impossible for citizens to see how the zoo planned to or actually did spend its money – despite the fact that it gets a large amount of public funding every year from the city, the county, bond measures and the East Bay Regional Park District. And despite us raising this issue over and over, the city was apparently never willing to do anything about the fact that the zoo did not ever file the required annual reports and ignored its contractual obligation to do so.
The Zoo's Expanded Plan graphic; click to see a larger, more detailed version.
 |
 |
 |
 Ruth Malone |
 Laura Baker |
 Jim Hanson |
 Mack Casterman |
We support Oakland's public spaces!
© 2024 Save Knowland Park. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress. Designed by 
Follow