Bearizona Taking Shape

A drive-through wildlife park is projected to open in Williams by mid-May, providing tourists with views of wolves, bears and bison from their vehicles and a walking area with bear cubs, javelina, raccoons and otters in enclosures.

The 158-acre, $15 million park, Bearizona, is now under construction on the east side of town, in a forested area just south of Interstate 40.

Construction workers were roofing an entrance building on Friday, and they have installed fencing and thinned trees to allow for a road through the park.

Next come concrete installations replicating rocky hillsides, carved animals as art, and landscape modifications, including using some wrecked cars and a school bus as the structural material underneath concrete to build a 30-foot-tall waterfall at the entrance station.

Fence construction has been the biggest difficulty in the snow, said Sean Casey, the park's chief executive officer.

When completed, the park will have 22 species and more than 100 North American animals, including bighorn sheep, rocky mountain goats, arctic wolves, lynx, otter, porcupine and skunks.

Most will come from animal rescue groups; the bison will come from Casey's own ranch.

Casey came to Williams from a similar wildlife park near Mount Rushmore started by his family.

Visitors will need to roll up windows when driving through some sections, such as the bear and wolf areas, Casey said.

There is no petting zoo or physical contact planned with the animals.

"As opposed to petting them, people get to see what they do in their environment," said Vanessa Stoffel, the chief operating officer.

Some animals will be allowed to breed; others will be given birth control.

It's estimated the animals will eat through 500 pounds of food per week, excluding grain, with some of that food gathered from local food banks.

4M GALLONS OF WATER A YEAR

The Williams City Council last July granted the wildlife park access to 4 million gallons of water annually for the park and the ability to trade public goods, such as improvements to public roads, for development fees, and to defer some fees.

Construction started two weeks after the land was bought last August.

More than 300 people have applied for 60 Bearizona jobs -- 10 or 15 of them year-round -- that will pay from minimum wage to a little more than $14 per hour.

Casey raised the $10 million for the first phase of the park on his own from his contacts after 12 banks turned him down, he said.

For now, the construction includes an entrance station, fencing, roads, a warehouse and restrooms.

A gift shop, and possibly a hotel, would come after this year.

Casey hopes to have 100,000 visitors in this first year, and 400,000 visitors annually a few years later, partly planning on tourism from the Grand Canyon.

Admission would be $11 for adults this year and $22 next, with different rates for kids and big groups or busloads.

The park would be closed in January and February annually, but open the rest of the year.

Cyndy Cole can be reached at 913-8607 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .