El Paso severs ties with Zoological Society. What does that mean for the El Paso Zoo?

The city of El Paso is severing ties with the El Paso Zoological Society, the nonprofit that has overseen fundraising, membership, camp programs and volunteers for the El Paso Zoo for the last 60 years.

The El Paso City Council voted on Feb. 26 not to renew its 2012 license agreement with the Zoo Society after its expiration on March 17, 2024. The agreement has been extended twice since it was first up for renewal in December 2022.

"We are extremely saddened to say that despite the Society’s best efforts, the city has not shown willingness to engage in a constructive dialogue for a new agreement," the Zoo Society wrote in a statement on its website. "We were led to believe that we would enter into negotiations before the agreement extensions expired. Instead, on February 26, we received notification that the agreement would not be extended or renewed and that we needed to vacate our offices on zoo grounds, without further explanation."

The change means that the city will take over many of the operations previously handled by the Zoo Society.

The El Paso Zoo, located at 4001 E. Paisano Drive, is a 35-acre facility with over 220 species, including the endangered painted dog and Sumatran orangutan.

"The El Paso Zoological Society has been our valued partner for many years," said city spokeswoman Laura Cruz-Acosta in an email. "Transitioning at this time will enable the El Paso Zoo and Botanical Gardens to directly oversee mission-critical aspects of their work and sustain the financial health of the organization."

Here are a few things to know as the city cuts ties with the Zoo Society.

What does Zoo Society do?

The main function of the Zoo Society was managing volunteers and fundraising, whether through memberships, events or camps, but it never managed the El Paso Zoo, city Rep. Chris Canales clarified in an email.

Memberships, good for one year of entrance into the zoo, range from $60 for one adult to $160 for two adults and up to five children and two adult guests.

"I have seen some public misunderstanding of the role that the Zoological Society played at the zoo," Canales said. "The Zoological Society, an independent non-profit organization, has never managed the Zoo. It has always been a city-run institution, with a budget of $10.1 million this fiscal year. All of the Zoo staff are city employees, and the city funds and carries out the Zoo’s operations and capital improvements."

Canales said that the Zoo Society "can definitely continue fundraising for the projects that align with the Zoo," but the city is "fully prepared" to take on all of its other responsibilities.

Why did city cut ties with Zoo Society?

The exact reasons for the termination of the city's agreement with the Zoological Society are unclear, but multiple officials hinted that there are financial forces at play.

"There are important financial reasons why the City Council made this decision for the appropriate safeguarding of public funds," Canales said. "Please trust that nobody was happy with this outcome, and nobody took it lightly, but there were certain reasons that absolutely could not be ignored."

Cruz-Acosta expressed a similar sentiment.

"Expenses continue to climb, and city departments continue to adjust to post-pandemic conditions," she said. "This has had continued financial impacts which required a re-assessment of the longstanding practices and relationship."

Meanwhile, city Rep. Josh Acevedo noted that under the current agreement, only 25% of the funds generated from Zoo Society membership sales goes back to the city.

"The big thing there is the memberships," he said. "When people go to the zoo, they get in line and they pay to get in, so that money is taxpayer money at that point because it goes to the Zoo. The memberships the Society has been selling for years now, only 25% of that is going back to the city under the agreement that was there."

Still, Acevedo said he has been disappointed with the way city staff has handled the change.

"My understanding was that we were going to get to work immediately on a new contract," he said, claiming the way the city evicted the Zoo Society and immediately posted job openings sends a "really bad message."

Interim City Manager Cary Westin is currently working on a new agreement, though it's unclear when it might be taken up by the City Council, Acevedo said .

"I'm hoping that will happen soon," Acevedo said. "And I think the biggest thing, I want to make sure the Society and the Zoo gets to a good place and this relationship continues for years to come."

El Paso city Rep. Cassandra Hernandez, meanwhile, noted that the Zoo Society will still have its nonprofit status and be able to support the Zoo in other ways.

"The decision to end the 60-year agreement between the El Paso Zoo and the Zoological Society has raised questions, but it is important to know that the Society will maintain its nonprofit status and can explore new ways to support the zoo," she wrote in a text message. "I thank the Society for their work and support thus far."

"Through open dialogue, I am confident that we can find solutions that benefit the community and ensure the zoo's sustainability," Hernandez continued. "This decision was made with the best interests of El Paso's citizens and the zoo's welfare in mind and I am optimistic about the positive outcomes it will bring."

City Rep. Art Fierro and did not respond to requests for comment. The remainder of the City Council declined to comment.

What happens to current El Paso Zoo memberships?

The original item approved by City Council stipulated that "all current Zoo memberships will be honored for their full term.”

New memberships, however, have been halted for the time being as the city transitions away from the Zoological Society.

"We will sustain existing member benefits and create new offerings for prospective members interested in supporting the Zoo and its mission to celebrate the value of animals and natural resources and create opportunities for people to rediscover their connection to nature," Cruz-Acosta said.

What impact will the change have on El Paso Zoo?

For the Zoo Society, the drawbacks to the city taking over Zoo operations are numerous — the statement on its website painted a doomsday scenario.

"The city’s proposed approach does not only shut out the financial support the society has provided, eliminating private fundraising that only a 501(c)(3) can facilitate," the Zoo Society wrote, "but also will set back the zoo and community to an archaic model of municipal zoos that would not be sustainable in the current economic model of modern zoos."

"By severing its relationship with the Zoo Society, the city of El Paso would be regressing," the statement continued. "We fear that without the involvement and support of the Society, both the quality of the Zoo and the taxpayers of El Paso will suffer."

The group added that it is currently "unclear as to how the city plans to use taxpayer dollars to fund the programs without the Zoo Society’s support."

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso City Council ends 60-year partnership with Zoological Society