Aug. 29, 2023

Nearly 80 percent of specimens in the Delbridge Museum of Natural History tested positive for detectable levels of arsenic, city and zoo leaders announced today.

The results were shared at a news conference designed to correct what Mayor Paul TenHaken calls “misinformation” around the city’s decision to request that the City Council declare the collection as surplus.

“There’s a lot of emotion around this topic,” he said, adding “it’s very easy to armchair-quarterback decisions that come out of our zoo or that come out of City Hall.”

Following a year’s evaluation of the collection, which included analysis by a taxidermy expert to assess their condition, the city received test results from an independent lab in Omaha on Aug. 1, zoo CEO Becky Dewitz said.

“This decision was not made abruptly or lightly,” she said. “I have great reverence for their educational value.”

Not only did 79 percent of the collection test positive for arsenic, but the chemical “migrates” and likely would affect the remaining specimens, City Attorney Dave Pfeifle said.

It also is expected to become worse as the collection ages. The specimens are between 45 and 75 years old.

“There is no acceptable level of risk when you’re dealing with a known carcinogen,” Pfeifle said.

The collection was closed earlier this month, and Dewitz said “we have proper precautions in place, with barriers and ‘do not touch’ signs, so I do not believe the public is in jeopardy or danger.”

Arsenic, asbestos and other chemicals were used regularly in preservation during the time when the taxidermy was created, she added.

That risk follows the city if it were to find a new home for the collection, TenHaken said, explaining that the city is the owner of the collection and would have reversionary risk given its knowledge that the specimens contain known carcinogens.

There also are other restrictions on how the collection could be moved because several of the specimens are federally protected species, governed by federal law and wildlife trade regulations. State law also plays a role, Pfeifle said.

Once an item is displayed within a city or county museum, state law “strictly limits” what can be done with it, he said. The item has to be given to a 501(c)3 nonprofit that must store or display it within the state of South Dakota.

“It cannot leave state lines,” he said.

The collection was being assessed in conjunction with the Great Plains Zoo’s master planning process.

“We discussed glass enclosures and making it part of the reimagined education center,” said Don Kearney, the city’s director of parks and recreation.

However, the condition of the specimens, the test results and the cost associated with other options made it not “a prudent decision,” he said.

The Sioux Falls Zoo and Aquarium Board made a motion to support the disposition, he said.

The next steps include a Sept. 5 informational presentation to the City Council, consideration of the move on Sept. 6 by the Board of Parks and Recreation and a resolution scheduled for a City Council vote Sept. 19.

The city would work with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service on the process of decommissioning the collection, other than the giant panda, which the zoo has said will remain.

Any thought that the collection would be disposed of in the Sioux Falls Regional Landfill is “simply not true,” Kearney said. “There are regulations defining how disposition occurs, and we expect it to a be a monthslong process.”

There also is a plan to incorporate education on the Delbridge Museum in future zoo improvements, the city said.

Zoo details what led up to Delbridge Museum closure, what’s next