State grant withdrawn, otter exhibit goes on

Louie the river otter's visit to the Wild Center at Tupper Lake could be prolonged.

Funds totaling $50,000, earmarked in 2005 by former state Sen. James W. Wright, R-Watertown, for the river otter exhibit at the New York State Zoo at Thompson Park, were withdrawn last year by state Senate Republicans in the waning days of their majority in the Legislature's upper chamber.

The planned 1,800-square-foot exhibit would house Louie, already owned by the zoo, and three new river otters in a re-creation of the river environment in which the animals once thrived.

John S. Foster, executive director of the zoo, called the grant process "labyrinthine" but remained optimistic that the project will stay on schedule.

"Our goal is to have the exhibit completed in the summer of 2009. We are working on a number of strategies," he said. "We have yet to receive written notification that the grant has been deleted. We may appeal to the public for help."

SENATE SAYS TIME IS UP

A spokesman for the Senate Republicans said that time had expired on the Wright grant.

"This grant was put forward over 31/2 years ago," spokesman Scott Reif said. "The state is facing fiscal challenges and we're setting priorities. We thought it was best to move on."

Mr. Reif said this was not the only grant withdrawn, but could not immediately provide a statewide number of grants or a total dollar amount.

In 2005, Mr. Wright secured a $50,000 "member item" for the zoo to help pay for construction of the river otter exhibit. But when the zoo's portion of a Local Waterfront Revitalization Program grant went unfunded the following year, the Thompson Park Conservancy didn't have the money for the project and could not submit a formal project proposal to the grant administrator — the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

"The way the grant worked, you had to spend money before getting reimbursed," Mr. Foster said. "We can't commit to incurring further costs because we've expended the funds we had for construction."

The Conservancy is awaiting reimbursement for another $50,000 grant, while a private foundation has pledged, but not yet provided, another $50,000.

"Until these funds come, our hands are tied," Mr. Foster said.

Another problem has plagued the effort: high turnover at the state parks department.

"We've had three different grant program officers in the last 12 months," Mr. Foster said. "They're doing the best they can, but this did delay our application."

BANK COMES THROUGH

Despite this, there has been a new ray of sunshine for the otters. Carthage Federal Savings & Loan recently donated $32,000 in support of the river otter exhibit.

"The donation from Carthage Federal helped cover our shortfall between the projected costs from two to three years ago and the actual cost today," Mr. Foster said. "This is the donation that is going to allow us to bring what will be a fabulous exhibit to our community."

The check was presented at a Thursday press conference.

The otter exhibit, in the planning stage for several years, is about one-third complete, Mr. Foster said. He expects it to open in March or April. The project's total budget is about $300,000, he said. That amount went up unexpectedly as the costs of goods and services have risen.

The bank will adopt Louie as its mascot, said Thomas H. Piche, president and chief executive officer of Carthage Federal Savings & Loan.

Within the next two weeks, the bank also will begin to offer checking accounts with zoo-themed debit cards and checks that allow fans of the zoo to show their support when they make purchases. For each account opened, the bank will donate $100 to the zoo.

"The zoo has been part of Northern New York for many, many years," Mr. Piche said. "We all need to support each other to make our community a great place to live. And otters are just a lot of fun."

The zoo hopes to obtain three more otters in an effort to establish two breeding pairs.

GRANT SEARCH CONTINUES

Meanwhile, Mr. Foster said the Conservancy will try to secure another grant with the help of state Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent.

"Going forward, Sen. Aubertine will continue to work with the zoo, which is one of many important groups seeking funding in this year's difficult economic climate," said Andrew Mangione, spokesman for Mr. Aubertine.

Mr. Mangione noted that during Mr. Aubertine's tenure in the Assembly, he secured two grants for the zoo: one for $6,000 in 2003 for drainage in the caribou area and another for $10,000 in 2006 for wire mesh fencing on the mountain lion cage.

The Watertown Daily Times is sponsoring the Otter 400 Club to raise $20,000 for the otters' care and upkeep. The campaign is looking for 400 people to donate $50 each.

Elementary schools that raise money for the otters have the chance to win naming rights for the three new otters. Schools interested in participating should call Mr. Foster at 755-0892.