View of Valles Caldera National Preserve. Courtesy/NPS

ABQ BioPark Director Stephanie Stowell

NPS News:

ALBUQUERQUE — Valles Caldera National Preserve and the ABQ BioPark recently established a Zoo-Park Partnership for America’s Keystone Wildlife to provide vital support in the recovery of New Mexico’s native wildlife found at the national park site.

They join eight other partnership pairs involving national parks across the country as part of the Zoo-Park Partnerships Project hosted by the Wildlife Restoration Foundation and supported through an agreement between the National Park Service (NPS) and Association of Zoos and Aquariums.

The BioPark and preserve aim to collaborate on the conservation of wildlife native to the preserve, including native bees and bats and at-risk species like the Jemez Mountains salamander, New Mexico meadow jumping mouse and New Mexico’s state fish, the Rio Grande cutthroat trout.

The goal of these field conservation projects is to measurably increase native wildlife population size, health, viability and habitat.

A focus of the partnership is to provide BioPark guests with up-close encounters with plants and animals, many of which are uncommon, secretive, or rarely viewed in person at the preserve. The Zoo-Park Partnership will use BioPark exhibits and education programs to deepen audience connections with native wildlife and to encourage active participation in local habitat and species conservation.

BioPark and preserve visitors and volunteers will be invited to become conservation stewards and participate in restoration projects at the preserve.

“We are excited to leverage this partnership with the ABQ BioPark to enhance our on-going conservation efforts to restore Valles Caldera’s important plant and wildlife habitat,” said preserve superintendent Jorge Silva-Bañuelos.

“The BioPark is privileged to educate about the world’s incredible and imperiled animals and plants,” ABQ BioPark Director Stephanie Stowell said. “We are honored to contribute our expertise in husbandry, horticulture, veterinary care, and species conservation to make New Mexico a place where wildlife thrives.”

“Wildlife are part of the historical landscape our nation’s parks sustain and interpret. Zoo, aquarium and botanic garden partners contribute expertise and resources to help parks meet America’s wildlife health and population recovery goals,” said Julie Anton Randall, Zoo-Park Partnerships Project founder and director.

For more information about Valles Caldera National Preserve, visit https://www.nps.gov/vall

For more information about the ABQ BioPark, visit https://www.cabq.gov/artsculture/biopark