Ark, animal park planned

Tuesday, March 23, 1999 | 11:31 a.m.

A group led by a conservancy for endangered species plans to build a towering replica of Noah's Ark near Mesquite -- a town north of Las Vegas near the Arizona-Utah border.

The ark would be the centerpiece of a 2,700-acre theme park modeled similarly to the Wild Animal Park north of San Diego. It's not related to a religious theme park rejected in 1997 by the city of Mesquite.

David Kirk, president of the Noah's Ark Conservancy for Endangered and Threatened Species, said today he is leading a team of investors that includes a Canadian group that plans to develop a laboratory, Oasis hotel-casino owner Si Redd, Las Vegas real estate investor Richard Tam, the non-profit Noah's Ark Foundation and the City of Mesquite.

Kirk also plans to involve three universities in the project: Texas A&M at College Station, which has an animal husbandry program; University of Nevada Reno, where the agriculture school would be called upon to develop a food source for the 5,500 animals that would live at the park; and UNLV, for logistical support and facilities management.

Duane Kraemer of Texas A&M, where the Noah's Ark Foundation is based, has agreed to assist in the project and meetings are planned later this month with UNR and UNLV representatives.

The ark, which would be 4 1/2 stories tall, 464 feet long and 150 feet wide and rest 550 feet above the desert floor on Flat Top Mesa just west of Mesquite, would be located on land currently administered by the federal Bureau of Land Management.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., is attempting to have the BLM land turned over to the City of Mesquite's economic development office as part of larger deal involving property about 7 miles west of Mesquite on land atop Mormon Mesa. Reid's proposal would include the Mormon Mesa land for an airport and a corridor along Interstate 15 leading into Mesquite for economic development uses.

Kirk said the park would be divided into five continental groupings with animals indigenous to India, Africa, South America, Australia and North America separated by moats and natural gorges living in the acreage just off I-15.

The project, expected to be open by fall 2002, is expected to cost between $100 million to $150 million to develop. Kirk said the figure is lower than some theme parks because the ark will be the only large facility on the property and everything else will be built of native materials to blend in with the surroundings.