BILLINGS — ZooMontana has regained its accreditation with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums .
ZooMontana's Executive Director Jeff Ewelt made the announcement Monday that following an inspection last May, the zoo has received AZA accreditation.
“With incredible staff and eager volunteers, we kind of knew we made it when companies started calling and wanting to be apart of our team,” Ewelt said.
AZA is the primary accrediting body for zoos and aquariums in the United States, and has been for over 40 years.
U.S. agencies such as OSHA and the USDA consider AZA standards as the “national” standard.
Those agencies refer to AZA standards when evaluating institutions.
A lot of the special events have helped improve financial stability - the reason for losing the accreditation in 2011.
Back in May, ZooMontana was inspected by the AZA and after the evaluation Ewalt says they finally have their golden stamp of approval back.
The zoo lost its accreditation in 2011 because it did not have a sufficient long-term funding plan in place.
