What to know about WNC Nature Center: New exhibits? Still for locals? Higher ticket costs?
ASHEVILLE — It was 11:30 a.m. at the Western North Carolina Nature Center and time for river otters Olive and Obi-Wan to be fed.
Kids clustered at the glass windows of the exhibit. Above them, on a flat rock plateau, staff member Eli Strull tossed fish down into the clear, blue pool. The otters showed off sleek bellies as they darted after chunks of rainbow trout, as dynamic as aerial dancers when they slip from banked stone into the water.
The most popular exhibit of the sprawling 42-acre zoological park in East Asheville, the otters are only one draw of the Nature Center, a city-owned and operated facility that has been breaking visitation records almost every year for the last decade.
"We've never been in a better position, quite honestly," said WNC Nature Center Director Chris Gentile. With new exhibits incoming, and renovations on the way, he anticipates numbers will only continue to climb.
Read this: Asheville's Muni golf course, greenways, WNC nature center might see $7.8M in TDA funding
Related: Can you drink beer on Blue Ridge Parkway? Will you see a bear?
How many people are visiting the nature center?
In 2021, the center drew 172,096 visitors totaling $1.9 million in admissions revenue — a number it's already on track to beat in 2022 — and Gentile said he expects the mid-170,000s to be the new normal.
When Gentile began with the center in 2009, visitation numbers sat around 87,000. As the center invested in more extensive marketing and upkeep and solidified the development of its master plan in 2010, visitation began to climb.
The true spike, and its biggest visitation year to date, came in 2019 with 181,130 visitors, drawing $900,139 in admission revenue.
The increase followed a $1.2 million project creating a new front entrance and relocated gift shop in 2018, which triggered an immediate 31% bump in attendance.
Visitation was further elevated by the opening of the red panda exhibit in 2019, the first phase of the center's Prehistoric Appalachians area.
While the center focuses on native animals, millions of years ago an animal similar to the red panda used to live in the Southern Appalachians, Gentile said, noting that in 2002 fossilized remains of a primitive and now extinct animal, Bristol's Panda, were discovered in Tennessee.
It was the first red panda discovered outside of Asia, he said, "so unique to Southern Appalachians," and the story they wanted to tell first.
"Those two things together are undoubtedly why our attendance has gone up to a new norm,” Gentile said.
In 2020, at the onset of COVID-19, the center closed for six months. That year, it saw only 50,777 visitors, but as a city-subsidized facility, Gentile said they did not cut any staff and continued operations as normal, although other zoos around the state were seeing significant cuts.
Is the center a locals joint or far-flung attraction?
In 2009, Gentile said 70% of the center's visitors were from Buncombe and surrounding counties. It was something of an insider secret, he said, and people who knew about it were loyal visitors.
“I would say 10 years ago, this was very much a local attraction," Gentile said. "But now, it’s definitely become more of a must-see attraction when people visit Asheville.”
The word got out, he said.
Kate Frost, Director of Development and Marketing with Friends of WNC Nature Center, the nonprofit that supports the center, said in the last five years they took on more of a marketing role for the Nature Center, bolstering its social media and advertising.
"Whenever I'm looking at marketing, I'm looking at ways to not only engage our tourism industry," she said, "but also making sure our local residents are taking advantage of this place right in their backyard."
Answer Man: No gender IDs at WNC Nature Center? Can I cut down my neighbor's tree?
More: 77-unit Sweeten Creek Road, 100% affordable apartment complex passes Asheville planning
In 2021, 30% of visitors were from Buncombe County, and 47% total were from the 21 counties that make up Western North Carolina.
More than 50% came from elsewhere, Gentile said, with visitors from all 50 states and 12 countries.
He theorized that people learned to make a day of it in East Asheville — a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway, the Folk Art Center and nearby hikes, with time to spare spent at the nature center.
"We're the perfect thing to do for a few hours," he said. "It's a perfect day."
On a sunny day in June, Heather and Rich Muskopf were two such visitors at the Nature Center, lingering alongside the otter exhibit.
Visiting from Cincinnati, Ohio, they said they frequent a similar nature center back home, and said visiting the one here during their week and a half stay in Asheville was a "no brainer."
“Places like this give back," said Heather Muskopf. "By us coming and paying a small admission fee to come in and see (the animals), it helps them keep growing and updating their facility, so that’s important.”
New animals incoming? What renovations and exhibits are on the way?
The center is in the process of funding an upcoming $1.2 million project — which would include enhancements to the entryway, an immersive live butterfly exhibit, an open guest plaza and the restructuring of the domestic animal space.
Somewhat reminiscent of the seasonal butterfly exhibit last displayed in 2010, Frost said it will bring back a beloved element of the park for many visitors.
Asheville City Council recently approved the application for a $567,000 Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority grant, and Friends of the WNC Nature Center has committed $150,000. The city allocated $480,000 for the project.
Gentile said if funding is secured from TDA in October, the new entrance and exhibit could be operational in spring 2024.
It would fill a gap in the park, he said, creating a space that could be used for after-hours events and a place for guests to linger upon entry, where they could create a game plan and choose which route to explore in the zoo.
"This is a chance to continue what we started with the front entrance," said Frost. "And provide what we're calling a gateway to the Southern Appalachians."
The next new animal exhibit will feature the armadillo, a species that is expanding its range, Gentile said, moving into Buncombe County and surrounding areas. A space is roughed out for the animal in Appalachian Station, the area of the Nature Center that houses snakes and other reptiles.
Gentile said the exhibit could be completed in 2023.
In other news: Armadillos, non-natives, tearing up acreage in WNC; population here to stay
More: 850 students estimated to have been homeless in Asheville, Buncombe schools this year
Also on the horizon is a black bear boardwalk extension and habitat reconstruction. Slated for 2025, once complete, Gentile said it will build a new exhibit interior for the bears so visitors can view them, even when in "hibernation."
He noted that black bears are not true hibernators, and are simply less active in the winter.
More on black bears:
NC Wildlife: Mama bear freed from plastic lid around neck in East Asheville
Bears in downtown Asheville aren't going anywhere; here's what to do if you see one
It will also create a viewing window that looks the length of the exhibit so people can view the bears from a vantage other than the boardwalks that overlook the habitat.
Strull, curator of education and guest experiences with the center, whose turn it was to feed the otters earlier that day, said he's been working there for 21 years, and the facility "looks as good as it ever has," with a strong mix of visitors, both locally and from out of town.
Are ticket prices on the rise?
Over the past 10 years, ticket prices have been on the rise, with increases in 2010, 2015 and 2021.
According to Gentile, in 2009 ticket prices for adult non-Asheville visitors were $7.95 and were $5.95 for residents.
Now, ticket prices are $13.95 for non-Asheville visitors and $9.95 for residents.
Increased as part of a 2010 parks and recreation revenues analysis, Gentile said they do not anticipate another hike until 2028.
With an annual budget of about $1.4 million, the Nature Center is subsidized by the city to offset costs of operation. In fiscal year 2021, that subsidy was $154,000 for the center's $1.4 million budget.
In 2010, in developing the master plan, City Council requested the subsidy not exceed 25% of the center's operating budget.
The center has 20 fulltime and part-time year round staff and 16 temporary and seasonal workers. The Friends of the WNC Nature Center have eight full-time staff members dedicated to development and revenue opportunities, such as the gift shop, fundraising and special events.
What should visitors look forward to this summer?
From its Bears and Brews events to behind the scene tours, Gentile said there is plenty to look forward to this summer.
More: Asheville proposes $216.9M budget; includes increase to $17/hr minimum wage for employees
“To me, the thing that makes the Nature Center so great is it’s showing people a slice of one very unique habitat: the Southern Appalachians," he said. "It is a truly fascinating habitat. We have things here that you don’t see anywhere else in the world."
For the nature seekers visiting Asheville, it functions as an introduction to local wildlife and flora, a gateway to the animals they may see while hiking, camping and — in the case of some black bear sightings — just walking around downtown.
Sarah Honosky is the city government reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. News Tips? Email shonosky@citizentimes.com or message on Twitter at @slhonosky.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: WNC Nature Center expects rising visitation with new exhibits incoming
