Time to improve Honolulu Zoo

Less than two weeks after Oahu voters approved a City Charter amendment that creates a funding stream fed by property tax revenues to help the struggling Honolulu Zoo regain accreditation, its top administrator has resigned, adding a significant rut in an already pitted path.

Baird Fleming, who became zoo director in 2015, is credited with putting the facility on a road toward re-accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). But part of the problem has been the zoo’s inability to retain a director: Fleming was the zoo’s fifth director in six years, and now, he is leaving for a job on the mainland.

His untimely departure leaves the hope that quality candidates will be attracted by the steady new funding source, which will be in place for at least six years. The City Charter’s mandatory funding — half of 1 percent of annual property tax revenue, will bring in between $6.5 million and $8 million annually.

Unpredictable funding has played a large part in the 42-acre zoo’s accreditation loss. Previously, the zoo’s annual budget was subject to the mayor and City Council’s decision-making. Over more than a decade, when AZA warned the zoo about inadequate funding, the city would fill the void, but subsequent funding dwindled as other city operations competed for dollars.

In addition to the unstable funding, the zoo grappled with repair and maintenance eyesores and increasingly stricter accreditation requirements. It lost its re-accreditation bid in March, and the Caldwell administration wants to apply again in 2018 or 2019. Accreditation is key to securing federal grants as well as animal trade or loan deals with accredited zoos.

If the zoo fails to secure re-accreditation, the new funding stream will run dry on July 1, 2023. Let’s hope it won’t come to that — but if it does, tough questions about continuing a zoo here must be asked.

Bill Balfour, former city parks director, has been named temporary zoo administrator. In addition to caring for the zoo’s 900 animals, Fleming’s successor will be expected to pick up future-focused education and conservation efforts.

The Honolulu Zoo, which formally opened in 1947, is the only zoo within a radius of almost 2,400 miles. Consequently, it’s a must-see for many of Hawaii’s schoolchildren who otherwise might not have opportunity for an up-close look at animals ranging from Komodo dragons to orangutans and elephants.

Among recent welcome updates to the grounds is its Children’s Discovery Forest, made possible through a partnership with the nonprofit Hawai‘i Forest Institute. The garden showcases culturally significant plants and trees that once grew near shoreline villages on Oahu.

The zoo’s value, though, goes beyond the obvious displays of flora and fauna. It also maintains a fund that supports field conservation programs around the world. Among them: the Madagascar Ploughshare Tortoise Project, which aims to protect the most endangered tortoise in the world; and the Komodo Survival Program, an Indonesia-based nonprofit devising management and conservation plans for the Komodo dragon and its natural habitat.

On Oahu, Honolulu Zoo pitches in to help plant seedlings for native lobeliads along Manoa Cliff trail. The 6-acre site is a patch of forest fenced in by the state to keep out feral pigs, chosen for restoration because it has many native species and easy access for hikers.

Earlier this month, both Fleming and City Council Chairman Ernie Martin, who pressed for Charter Amendment Proposal 9, said they viewed the Charter amendment ballot question as a referendum on the future of the zoo. It passed in the Nov. 8 election with 154,035 “yes” votes, or about 57 percent.

Now it’s time for residents to support the zoo they voted to target-finance. The city has juggled over a dozen zoo improvement projects this year, and plans to take on another 10 next year. 2017 will see the zoo’s two sun bears back on display — and by July, when the voter-approved funding starts rolling in, a new administrator also should be in place, helping the zoo to move forward.