Nearly a year and a half long process of creating a plan for the future of the Miller Park Zoo is complete.

For over a year, the Bloomington Zoo has been working on a Master Plan for the next 15-20 years of the zoo. Superintendent of the Zoo, Jay Tetzloff says some of the things the master plan will include will be clustering the animals by continents of origin and also expansion.

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While those are some of the goals the Zoo has for farther into the future, Tetzloff says there are some smaller things the Zoo can do to improve. One of his goals, is to have flamingos from Africa being the very first animals you see when you come in. Tetzloff explains seeing animals when you first walk into the Zoo is very important to him.

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Making the master plan become a reality is going to take a lot of community support. Tetzloff says a challenging task he has taken on since he started at the Zoo nearly three years ago, is going out and gathering that support. He explains they cannot be dependent on tax dollars, and he says partnering with the private sector is a big part of the zoo becoming self-sustaining.

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Tetzloff feels finishing the master plan and having it approved by the Bloomington City Council was a huge boost of momentum forward. He hopes to continue that momentum by announcing plans for project beginnings within the next year.

The Bloomington City Council approved the Miller Park Zoo's master plan last Monday.