Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo
The Northeastern Wisconsin Zoo, commonly referred to as the NEW Zoo is a zoo located Suamico, Wisconsin, in the United States. The is situated northwest of the Brown County Reforestation Camp, , which together cover and have over a half million visitors each year. The NEW Zoo does not receive local or regional tax support for its annual operating budget. History The area where the zoo is located was covered with pine and oak forests when European settlers began arriving in the 1800s. Intensive lumbering soon cleared most of the land and residents began planting crops. Once the forests were gone, there were no leaves or logs left to decompose and replenish the sandy soil and the soil was no longer able to produce crops. In the late 1800s, Brown County acquired the area that makes up the Reforestation Camp. In 1948, sparks from a passing train set fire to of county land and destroyed what was left of the forest. This prompted the County Board to build an open prison camp and plant trees, hence the name Brown County Reforestation Camp. Beginning in 1950, Harry Barth, the first camp superintendent, and his wife directed inmates in planting 250,000 white