This historic Fresno, California park will be lost forever...
unless we act today!
Beautiful Roeding Park is located in Council President Cynthia Sterling's District 3. Please contact her or the other City Councilmembers and let them know we need to preserve this open space for all the citizens of the central San Joaquin Valley.
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Roeding Park was donated to the City of Fresno in phases starting in 1903 by Frederick and Marianne Roeding for the purpose of a public park.
Having grown large over the past 100 years, the majestic groves of big trees at Roeding today offer shady, often- crowded gathering places for diverse families from throughout Fresno and the central San Joaquin Valley - a place for picnics, quinceañas and weddings; children running free; spontaneous and organized soccer and volleyball games and coolers filled with cool beverages, snacks and BBQs.
Although a zoo has existed in the park to some degree since the early years, today the zoo is planning to expand across the entire southeastern section of the park (into the original 1903 donation land) nearly all the way to Golden State Boulevard. See Zoo's Proposed Master Plan.
The fountain pictured at the top of this page, the fishing ponds, large fields, the horseshoe pits and numerous picnic table areas & the Palm Point Picnic Shelter will be lost to the public as free access when these areas are converted to zoo uses.
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| Bust of George C. Roeding, the man who created Roeding Park may be seen beside the zoo administration office just inside the Belmont Ave entrance. |
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| Kids fishing in these ponds will soon not be allowed |
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Large Safari Park-type animals such as elephants, giraffes, gorillas, chimpanzees, lions, hippos, tigers, bears, zebras, and rhinoceros need many more acres than Roeding Park can ever provide. Let's keep a first-class Children's Zoo in the park and find another site with acreage for the big animals like other cities, such as San Diego, have done.
Please check back here often
as new information will be added.
If you would like to get involved, please let your friends know about the zoo's expansion plans and send us an e-mail so we may add you to our confidential list of concerned citizens:
info@saveroedingpark.org
Also, be sure to read the case against the current unethical direction the zoo has decided take at the expense of the animals and take our poll regarding the repeal of the
Fresno County Zoo Tax.
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The Roeding family has retained attorney Richard Harriman to represent the interests of the people who use and enjoy the park during the zoo expansion approval process. If you would like to make a donation to the legal defense fund in memory of Peter Roeding Butler, who fought strongly to save Roeding Park by participating in a lively debate which aired on KVPR FM89.3 in Fresno in 2004, please e-mail us today at info@saveroedingpark.org. Donations to this fund are not tax deductible.
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