GRAY – The Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, owned and operated by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, played host to more than 102,200 visitors this year, up 9 percent from 2008, despite the rainy summer.

The Maine Wildlife Park seeks to provide education and information about Maine’s native wildlife, as well as the programs and projects being undertaken by IF&W to manage and conserve wildlife as an essential resource of the state.

The increase in visitors translated into a 24 percent increase in revenue, attributable to a small admission fee increase in 2009 and sales from the park’s Nature Store.

Per Legislative mandate, all revenues generated by the Maine Wildlife Park are dedicated specifically and only to the Maine Wildlife Park, from which all annual operating expenses are withdrawn.

By conducting periodic surveys of Maine Wildlife Park visitors throughout the season, we have found that as many as 45 percent of our peak season (mid to late summer) visitors are from out of state, and visitors from around the globe constitute close to 5 percent of overall attendance. Visitors repeatedly stated that they heard about the Maine Wildlife Park from friends and family, and the Maine Wildlife Park’s website consistently is in the top 5-10 pages viewed on IF&W’s website.

Several special events this season had record-breaking attendance; including the annual “Honor the Animals” Native American Pow Wow with close to 5,000 visitors for the 2-day event; our popular ‘HalloweenFest’ with 1,200 visitors, most in costume, for the 3-hour evening event; and more than 1,000 people for the 2nd Annual Rick Charette concert. The busiest non-event day on record with close to 1,500 people on the Friday of April school vacation!

It appears that the Maine Wildlife Park has become a destination and/or a ‘staycation’ for both residents and out-of-state visitorsl. Although people enjoy all of our resident wildlife, clearly the most popular species is the moose. As the wildlife park continues to make annual improvements in the exhibits for wildlife, as well as for visitors, we look forward to seeing new and returning visitors in 2010.

For more information about the Maine Wildlife Park, please visit our website at: www.mainewildlifepark.com or become a fan on Facebook! Just search “Maine Wildlife Park.”

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