A new exhibit at Manitowoc’s Lincoln Park Zoo has been officially recognized.
The Chamber of Manitowoc County and Lincoln Park Zoological Society held a ribbon-cutting yesterday afternoon for the Coastal Wetland Aviary, located in a natural floodplain along the Little Manitowoc River.
The area was previously used as an exhibit but became overgrown with vegetation and littered with old fencing.
Now the area is used as an immersive experience, an open-air aviary, with every bird and other animals that would normally be seen in the environment appearing as they would.
Zoological Society Board President Bill Fricke says the entire project came together very well and solves some problems the zoo previously had with flooding in some of its exhibits.
He says people are very excited to see the new aviary.
“A lot of people say they just really enjoy sitting on the boardwalk, and it’s so peaceful hear,” he explained. “It’s very quiet and kind of serene.”
The most notable addition to the Coastal Wetland Aviary is the boardwalk that takes you into the natural area.
Zoological Society Coordinator Andi Janicki says it was the last thing to go in and took some time to install. In the end, it was well worth it.
“Now that you see the size of it, you can understand why, it’s a beast,” he described. “It makes it that much more amazing to be out there.”
He added, “This is just mind-blowing. I’ve had people who haven’t been to the zoo in 15 years, like some people who are here. And came just for this, it’s astonishing.”
Mayor Justin Nickels thanked the State of Wisconsin for providing a little more than $95,000 through the Coastal Management Program, and the Zoological Society for their work in assembling the aviary.
He also noted how Manitowoc has a lot of natural beauty that sometimes can’t be seen.
“There are several thousand species of birds that fly through our area that nobody even knows about but come here because of the environment and what Manitowoc is,” he noted. “So to be able to highlight all that, to be able to allow the public, the citizens of Manitowoc, this wonderful attraction is really neat.”
The Coastal Wetland Aviary is open when the Lincoln Park Zoo is open, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., from Memorial Day to Labor Day.
