BILLINGS — One of the largest projects in ZooMontana's history is nearly complete and had a grand opening ceremony on Wednesday.
The Foster Waterfowl Refuge was under construction for over a year and was a $1.5 million project.
“It’s been a personal vision of mine to see something like this for 12 years now, but it’s been a vision of the zoo for a lot longer than that. And so to actually have today be here and actually have this habitat come to fruition, it’s a dream come true," ZooMontana Executive Director Jeff Ewelt said. "You know, we get emotional about it because it’s been something we’ve been thinking about for a long time.”
The habitat was designed to be a natural fly-through space for migrating waterfowl and has signs throughout the refuge discussing wetland conservation. In 2024, the zoo will work to stock the multiple ponds in the refuge with native fish. This will allow them ample time to ensure the system is working correctly before adding fish.
Over 1,200 plants and trees that are native to Montana were planted around the Foster Waterfowl Refuge.
Ewelt thanked Cynthia Foster for her generous donation in memory of her late husband, Paul "Milan" Foster, as well as the Montana chapter of Ducks Unlimited and Philips 66.
