Sioux Falls to spend $55K to evaluate arsenic-contaminated taxidermy display at state’s largest zoo

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — The city of Sioux Falls has decided to spend $55,000 to evaluate a menagerie of taxidermy animals contaminated by arsenic that fill a now-closed natural history museum at the state’s largest zoo.

The contract was approved Monday by a working group that was created after a backlash to the Delbridge Museum’s closure, The Argus Leader reports.

Issues arose in August when nearly 80% of the museum’s specimens tested positive for detectable levels of arsenic.

Community and museum taxidermy experts argued that the arsenic risk was overblown. Older taxidermy specimens are frequently displayed, experts say, with museums taking precautions like using special vacuums to clean them — or encasing them in glass. But Sioux Falls officials have expressed concerns about the cost.

The situation is complicated by a morass of state and federal laws that limit what can be done with the mounts. One issue is that the collection includes 53 endangered species, according to zoo officials, and under federal law and international laws they are protected — even in death.

The contract with A.M. Art Conservation will bring a project team of five people, described by Great Plains Zoo CEO Becky Dewitz as “experts from the natural history museum world,” to Sioux Falls for five days to assess the condition of the museum and its specimens.

They would inspect the mounts and speak with staff before issuing a report that would outline the condition of the mounts, the techniques used to care for them, which ones need more treatment, how much that treatment could cost, and overall recommendations for restoring or replacing them.

But that’s going to take a while, Dewitz said. The earliest the team could visit Sioux Falls is sometime in late January, with a report expected 60 days after their visit.

The group also discussed a $1 million estimate for removing the mounts, storing them for 6-12 months, working on mitigating the arsenic and creating new dioramas for the pieces — which they said would come to a little under $1 million. That’s assuming a considerable chunk of the mounts, at least 25%, are beyond saving.

Costs from putting the specimens behind glass were not included, Dewitz added. Previously, she’s said the price of that, plus improved ventilation in whichever space the mounts are displayed, could be upward of $3 million.

The group also discussed the viability of donating the collection, or parts of it, to a new owner — a plan that faces some hurdles in state law.

Currently, county or municipal museum collections can be given to certain nonprofit organizations — but they must remain within South Dakota and the new caretaker could not themselves dispose of the collection.

Councilor Alex Jensen said he’s had conversations with state legislators about working on a legislative amendment that could allow for the donation of the collection.

As for the mounts themselves, consulting attorney James Moore is working on a legal opinion about whether they are able to put them in storage while these various options get sorted out — something Dewitz seemed eager to do, citing the increased space for indoor recreation she’d have if the animals were not all sitting unused inside the museum.