Chimpanzee Sanctuary Northwest

Hope. Love. Home. Sanctuary

expansion

Outdoor Habitat Expansion

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We are pretty darn excited about the expansion projects underway at the sanctuary! I predict Jamie is going to LOVE her new patrol routine.

Learn more about all that’s happened the last two years and the future/current projects on the Future of CSNW page on our website.

Construction costs have gone way up, so if you have the ability to donate, we would really appreciate it!

In addition to all of the various ways you can contribute every day, there will be a few special opportunities throughout the year, including the upcoming GiveBig and the in-person HOOT! fundraising fête in September. Reach out if you want to talk to me about donation and sponsorship opportunities.

Out of the Fog

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When I set out on my perimeter walk this morning, the sanctuary was blanketed in a dense fog.

Climbing the 80 or so feet in elevation to the top of Young’s Hill was all it took to escape into the first rays of morning sunlight.

This morning’s walk was particularly enjoyable because I got to imagine myself walking through the expanded outdoor habitats, which are just now beginning to take shape. The first of the massive steel corner posts were set this week by our friends at Sage Mechanical.

When we started building Young’s Hill back in 2010, we were working under a number of constraints, the most significant of which being that we didn’t own any of the vacant land beyond the pasture above the chimp house. In order to avoid any problems with future neighbors, we kept the fence line far away from the property boundaries. Since then, however, we’ve bought up all of the adjoining land and that has allowed us to push the fence line out as far as topography and underground utility easements will permit.

While most of the area we’re expanding into is also pasture, we were able to cut a little slice into the woods so that the chimps can enjoy the shade of a few tall pines, in addition to the less mature trees that we will be planting.

Those trees that had to be cleared for the fence line will become part of the numerous climbing structures we plan to build next spring.

Plans are also moving ahead for the large, fully-enclosed outdoor area on the west side of the building, which should get underway as soon as weather allows early next year. Meanwhile, the chimps continue to enjoy the greenhouses. Honey B actually let me close off the mezzanine for cleaning so that she could spend time out there (after only a short protest).

Mave was keen on getting Willy B to groom with her. Her invitation? Looking his way and shaking a large bamboo plant vigorously.

He finally obliged.

Rayne was keeping an eye on things from across the hall.

When you hear someone blowing raspberries in her group, it’s usually Terry. But this morning it was Cy, telling me to put the stupid camera down and play chase.

Throughout the morning, we have to shift the chimps around their various enclosures so that we can clean, and each time we do so we have to perform a series of safety checks that involves finding each of the chimpanzees. This morning, Cy was making that difficult. When this happens, we check the security cameras. He was just above us and out of view, engaged in his favorite activity – reading magazines.

Each time the chimps shifted to a new area, Cy would bring his reading material and find a new place to camp out.

By mid-morning, the fog had lifted completely and Jamie and Burrito set out to survey the upcoming changes to their sanctuary home.

I keep trying to tell Jamie that those trees will be hers. So far, she seems far more interested in the equipment. Which reminds of the time she wanted me to chase her with a chainsaw. Not safe, Jamie. Not safe.

A Taste of What’s to Come

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I should know better than to make predictions regarding construction timelines but I think it’s safe to say that we are within a couple months of the “Cali 3” moving into their new playrooms. Then, assuming our year-end fundraising is successful, we move on to completing the greenhouses. When that is done, we plan to welcome six more chimps and then create a 2nd two-acre habitat. It’s going to be a busy year!

Chimps always seem to know when the things we are building are meant for them. When we built Young’s Hill in the summer of 2011, the Cle Elum seven knew right away that it was their new habitat. How would they have known that? They’d spent their lives in small cages and hadn’t been outdoors since they were little kids, if ever. And surely they had never seen an electric fence before. But somehow they knew. In fact, months before we were ready to let them out, I took out my keys to unlock a chain near the entrance to the new enclosure and the chimps began hugging and screaming – they thought I was letting them out! Needless to say, I felt pretty bad about that. Luckily, they did go out later that summer and now Young’s Hill is part of their home. Honey B, Willy B, and Mave are just as ready to claim their new spaces and we’re looking forward to seeing them run, climb, and swing their way through the new playrooms and beyond.

In addition to the video above, I thought I’d share some bonus photos of Foxie from this morning. This is typical Foxie – she starts our patrolling with the gang and then wanders off by herself. She’s got a real independent streak.

The King of the Courtyard and His Growing Kingdom

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Willy B has been exploring more of his modest kingdom.

In his quest for scattered grapes, he has taken his first tentative steps on grass and dirt and away from the safety and security of familiar objects and structures. At times he is bold.

Other times he is more cautious.

This morning he inspected the grass from the safety of a plastic tub, as though he was in a dinghy setting out from a larger vessel.

While he is still hesitant to step on grass, he no longer has any fear of being outdoors. In the nine years since we opened Young’s Hill, I can’t remember a single time that any of the Cle Elum Seven took a nap outside. They run and climb and swing, they forage and they hunt, they patrol and survey. They even relax at times. But they never nap outdoors.

According to Willy B, they don’t know what they’re missing.

One of the things I’ve been meaning to do for a while is to explain what our plans are for the sanctuary over the next couple of years, particularly as they relate to Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. I know it can be confusing. We had hoped to integrate our three new residents with the Cle Elum Seven, knowing that we could house them separately if it didn’t work out. As you know, it didn’t work out, so we are now following Plan B. As far as backup plans go, things are pretty good – but we have a lot of work ahead of us, and I hope to clarify how we intend to meet the needs of these three as well as those still to come.

Phase 1 – The First Step in our Expansion

The Californians, as many of our supporters call them, live in our new wing, which was the first part of a three-phase expansion plan. There are smaller indoor rooms on the first floor (Front Rooms), a larger room upstairs (The Mezzanine), and an arched tunnel that connects Front Room 5 to the outdoor area (The Chute).

The Front Rooms
The Mezzanine
The Chute

The Courtyard

When we reverted to Plan B, our first thought was to alternate access to the 2-acre outdoor area, Young’s Hill, between the Seven and the Californians until we could create a separate outdoor area. But we realized that having a smaller yard to themselves would be safer and less intimidating for the new guys as they adjusted to the outdoors, so we carved out a section of Young’s Hill just for Willy B, Honey B, and Mave. The Courtyard, as we call it, is a separate space but at this time it is only separated by a single fence so we don’t allow the two groups out at the same time.

Next Steps: Phases 2 and 3

Phases 2 and 3 of our expansion plans were developed in conjunction with Phase 1, but building enclosures for chimps requires a lot of money so we knew we would have to break the project up into manageable pieces. Phase 2 consists of a large indoor playroom, divided into two sections, with 20-foot ceilings, catwalks all around, and large tree-like climbing structures from floor to ceiling in the middle of each room. Phase 3 consists of a divided greenhouse enclosure, connected to the playrooms, with a mulch floor and removable polycarbonate panels on the roof and three sides to provide warmth and shelter during the winter months (just like our existing greenhouse for the Seven). Originally these additions were designed for one group, but we decided to enlarge and divide each area to give us more options. Now, when both phases are complete, we will not only have a larger home for Honey B, Willy B, and Mave, but we will also be able to take in another group of chimpanzees from the now defunct Wildlife Waystation. The groups could be integrated but the space will allow two groups to remain separate if needed.

The south elevation of Phase 1
South elevation showing the addition of Phases 2 and 3

 

The view from above, showing the original building (on the left, oriented east/west) and the Phase 1 addition (on the right). The additions will extend into the empty area where the tractor is parked.

 

The future floor plan, showing Phases 2 and 3.

 

Funds for Phase 2 were raised before the pandemic struck, so we are excited to be breaking ground this year, as soon as permits are issued, with the hope of seeing Honey B, Willy B, and Mave enjoy their added space by winter. To save on construction costs, we will also be completing the foundation, steel framing, and hallway of the Phase 3 greenhouses at the same time, with the caging and polycarbonate panels to be installed later once additional funds are raised – hopefully by next spring or summer.

Additional Outdoor Enclosures

One thing we have learned over the years, much to our frustration, is that plans change. Five years ago, we made the decision to work towards expanding the sanctuary so we could take in more chimps. But there have been so many twists and turns along the way that making plans has been like shooting at a moving target. Ultimately, we focused most of our attention on the initial stages and left a lot to be determined as events unfold. Like the outdoor areas, for example.

Now that the future of the sanctuary is coming into focus, we realize that our three new residents, and those still to come, need their own outdoor spaces. To accomplish this, we have decided to rebuild the fences to create an additional 2-acre fenced enclosure, tentatively named The Bray in memory of our dear friend and former board member, James Douglas. James’ wife, Jennifer, is a long-time friend, supporter, and volunteer. She is sponsoring a good part of this project and chose the name, which we love. “Brae” is the Celtic word for hillside and James hailed from Bray, Ireland.

Enlarging the total footprint of the enclosures was only made possible because we now own all of the surrounding parcels and we don’t have to worry about maintaining a large buffer by the property lines like we did when we built Young’s Hill. Still, we can’t infringe on the power line easement to the south of the building and the topography limits how far up the hill we can build fences so we are limited to these two large enclosures at this time.

But because we may end up with three separate groups in the end, we do plan to build a third outdoor area just west of the new addition, opposite the building from the fenced enclosures. This one, however, will be a more traditional closed-top design. Why? As I mentioned, space is certainly a factor, but we also find that some chimps, even after several years, are more comfortable in closed-top enclosures and make more use of them. Ultimately it’s about choices and flexibility. We want Honey B and Mave to join Willy B outside and we want to give them all the time in the world to make that decision for themselves. But it never hurts to have other options. Other chimps will benefit from the option as well, as groups can be rotated throughout the facility to experience different enclosures.

The sudden closure of the Wildlife Waystation has focused our efforts as well as our resolve to expand. Like other sanctuaries, we will always struggle to find the right balance between providing what is best for our residents and responding promptly to crises like this. At times it feels like we are too cautious, but we know that our primary responsibility is to those already in our care. With the future of the remaining Waystation chimps uncertain, we are working as hard as we can to complete this expansion project so that we can welcome more chimpanzees to Willy B’s kingdom.

Sunning, sleeping, supervising

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This morning, volunteers Rose, Ray, and Fred set out an early lunch forage for the chimps. Negra spent much of her time on the Escher climbing structure – I don’t know if she has a special fondness for this structure or if she just thinks we put more food up there. Either way, it’s great to see Negra climbing so high and enjoying the sun.

Afterwards she showed that in spring you don’t always have to rely on humans for your food. There’s plenty of wild lettuce out here, thank you very much.

Jamie was deep in dreamland after the forage (no doubt dreaming about boots and books and books filled with boots) when she was awoken by some activity out back.

These people look like they need to be supervised.

The welders had arrived with some of the caging that is being installed next week.

While we are still several weeks away from having the new chimp areas up and running, we have already begun putting the human areas of Phase 1 to use. Here’s a shot of the foyer which houses the computer workstation and break areas. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to have so much space after working for over a decade out of a one-room kitchen/laundry/enrichment/office workspace.

More important than the new foyer is the new clinic, which has twice the square footage of our mobile unit and includes much more storage space.

Once everything is done, we’ll put together a video tour of the whole facility. And then it’s on to Phases 2 and 3!

A Flurry of Fall Activity

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I can’t remember a time when we’ve been this busy here at CSNW. It’s gotten to the point where it feels odd when the nail guns, diesel engines, and back up signals fall silent for the evening. But we couldn’t be happier to see all the progress around here! Here’s a brief update on what we’ve been working on this fall.

The Cattle Barn and Pasture:

Last fall we purchased a neighboring property to extend the buffer around the sanctuary and to obtain a second access to the road. The property had been used for horses and contained multiple sheds and paddocks. Some of the property had been neglected, but with a little sprucing up and some new fencing, we whipped it back into shape and it now serves as the winter pasture for our new herd of cattle.

Currently the cattle are using the horse sheds for shelter during inclement weather, but soon they will have a new barn! In the process of expanding the chimp building, we needed to remove the pole barn shelter that protected our mobile vet clinic. Rather than demolishing it, we carefully disassembled it and with the help of volunteers we’re nearly done rebuilding it in the cattle pasture.

This is my favorite photo of the bunch so far, taken by Katelyn (from L to R: Betsy, Honey laying down, Meredith, and Nutmeg):

Trusses going up on the new barn, with the help of the Suncadia volunteer builders crew (who helped build the “Escher” play structure for the chimps earlier this year):

The View Property Residence:

In addition to sheds and paddocks mentioned above, the “View Property”, as we call it, also has a house on it. The house was never permitted by the former owner, however. While this was accounted for in the price of the property, it now presents an opportunity for us to create staff or volunteer housing for potentially very little cost. To do this, we need to work with the county to get the house up to code and obtain permits, and the first step is to have architectural “as built” plans developed. CSNW Board President Caitlin made a connection for us to a Seattle architect who developed the plans for us pro bono. Many thanks to Nguyen for donating his time and expertise to this project!

The View House:

The view from the View House:

The New Driveway:

The process of obtaining a permit to expand our chimp facility has been long and arduous. One of the complications we experienced was a requirement by the DOT to put in a brand new driveway to serve the sanctuary. As luck would have it, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), which owns the power lines that run through the southern portion of our 90-acre property, needed to build a new road to service their towers. So we made a deal that would benefit everyone – in the process of building a new road to their towers, they would also build a driveway for the sanctuary that would satisfy the DOT. Because their project got delayed and we were counting on this new driveway in order to get our permits, the BPA agreed to build our section first and rushed to get it done before winter. They’ve laid about a half mile of new road and things should be wrapped up and ready to go next week.

Phase 1 of the Chimpanzee Facility Expansion:

Perhaps most importantly, the first phase of our chimp facility expansion is nearing completion. This addition includes a foyer, a larger bathroom, a new laundry and enrichment room, a veterinary clinic, and quarantine and introduction areas that will allow us to bring more chimps to CSNW. The building was recently painted (and they threw a new coat on the old building as well) and today they poured the sidewalks. The interior of the human areas is close to being finished, with the biggest project remaining being the installation of a fire sprinkler system. We aren’t required by code to install sprinklers in this building but we are confident that the extra protection they will provide to the chimps is well worth the added cost.

With all of this activity around the sanctuary, you might be wondering how the chimps are reacting to it all. I’m happy to tell you that these seven seem to take everything in stride.

On behalf of Annie, Burrito, Foxie, Jamie, Jody, Missy, Negra…and Betsy, Honey, Meredith, and Nutmeg…as well as the CSNW staff and volunteers…and I guess Ellie, our resident elk, too…thanks so much to all of the generous and loyal donors that have made this progress possible!