Zoo for Rare Species Clears 1st Hurdle

A nonprofit group cleared the first hurdle in its effort to build an endangered-species zoo on 115 acres of county-owned land between Moorpark and Simi Valley.

The group showed county park officials that it had raised more than $250,000 in donations and in-kind contributions, which was necessary to keep its five-year lease option on the property alive.

“Each year they have certain milestones that they have to pass, and this was the first one,” said Blake Boyle of the county parks department.

Mark Cartland, who has been developing the idea for the “eco-park,” said there is much more to do before detailed plans are completed. The proposal calls for the zoo to include rain forests and grassland habitat for endangered animals such as Madagascan lemurs and Brazilian golden lion tamarins.

The park would also focus on breeding and reintroducing those endangered species into the wild, Cartland said.

By the end of this year, the nonprofit group must show county officials that it has raised another $250,000 and started work on a master plan. More detailed work would cost millions of dollars and would be farther down the line, Cartland said.

“But before you know it, farther down the line will be right there,” he said.