MDZiB Fantasy Master Plan: Section 2 "Icons of Western North America", part 1

I continue to enjoy my little fantasy redesign and expansion of my beloved Maryland Zoo in Baltimore with this redevelopment of one of the oldest areas of the present day zoo, now long abandoned.  The zoo sits in the heart of Druid Hill Park, the city's version of Central Park and likewise designed by the father of landscape design, Frederick Law Olmsted (that is, the park, NOT the zoo)  The zoo came along, after the initial creation of the park, in 1876.

In its present location, the bulk of the zoos animals reside in areas beyond the original ones.  As the zoo expanded, it abandoned areas deemed too expensive to restore for portions of the park where creating something new was more cost effective.  As a result, today you enter past an iconic 19th century bandstand pavilion to a plaza that is separated from the zoo by a not insignificant ridge/hill.  The hill is now covered by a mature hardwood forest that expands to the north of the zoo and well into the the rest of the park.

While an obstacle of sorts, the hill is bypassed on both sides with roads that lead into the majority of the zoo.   One road skirts the last area abandoned on the southern side of this ridge, and uses a shuttle tram to ferry guests from ticket entrance to zoo grounds.  The other requires you to walk along the north side the of ridge on a service road called the Buffalo Yard Road.  Here guests can see the stone walls and remnants of shelters of habitats once home to some of the zoo's earliest hoofstock like Bison and Deer and Camels.  None of these species are part of the zoo's collection today. 

The road divides the slope of the ridge.  On the north side you look down upon the former habitats.  On the south side, you look up the ridge through the hardwood forest.  While it is a lovely walk, it is also a prime area for redevelopment.  Therefore it is the site of my (fantasy) major new initiative for the Maryland Zoo.

Built upon the present non-Maryland species of Black-tailed Prairie Dogs and Grizzly Bears, and harkening back to a time when American Bison were part of the visitor experience over a century ago, the theme of this expansion would be to establish a new, fifth geographically cohesive zone called: "Icons of Western North America."   This section would join "Maryland Wilderness," "Arctic Realms," "African Journey," and the newly named (Part of my fantasy plan) "Global Farmstead" in continuing the trajectory of excellence at the Maryland Zoo.  In the second map, it's the area in yellow-green.

The area would create generous habitats for the American Bison, Pronghorn Antelope, Collared Peccary, Coyote, North American Gray Wolf (Timber Wolf), Mountain Lion, Grizzly Bears...and North American Black Bears, whose location would act as a transition to the Maryland Wilderness area of the zoo.

The Bison Overlook structure provides a focal point for the entrance into the new zone from the main Schaffer entrance plaza and has a focus on the first large species guests encounter, the American Bison.

Informative signage will tell the story of the animals, their history with the Maryland Zoo (if there is one) and cultural connections between the species and human beings.  Other signage will explore the present status and efforts in conservation and species survival planning.  [This is just a tossed together sample and not what I think the actual placard should look like]