By Dallas Heltzell | BizWest
WELD COUNTY — The Denver Zoo will expand its operations onto the Lembke Family Preserve, a donated 570-acre tract east of Greeley in Weld County, the zoo announced Thursday.
Conversations between the family and the zoo began about 18 months ago, said Bob Lembke, president of United Water and Sanitation District and a Weld County ranch owner.
“I’ve always been a big fan of the zoo and came to the conclusion that this made sense,” Lembke told BizWest. “I signed the documents for the donation last December.”
The gift was made, he said, because “Denver Zoo has been part of our family tradition since the late 1950s. Both Carol and I loved visiting the old zoo of our childhood, and we took our kids there many times. It’s always a special family outing. With the stewardship provided to endangered species by the zoo through the preserve, we hope that the zoo can be part of our family for generations.”