Contact: Selene Kinder
Phone: 661.379.6036 Email: selene@provconsult.com
Website: ProtectCALMZoo.org
For Immediate Release 5/6/2026
More than 32,500 Kern County residents signed their names. The measure is slated for the November ballot. Now the campaign begins.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — May 6, 2026 —One by one, Kern County residents put their name on a petition and said the same thing: CALM Zoo deserves a future as big as its past.
The Protect CALM Zoo campaign has submitted over 32,500 signatures from registered voters for certification with Kern County election officials, seeking qualification of the measure for the November 2026 ballot. If voters say “Yes” in November, it ensures funding for a 20-year Master Plan that would transform CALM Zoo from a beloved local treasure into a legacy institution that draws visitors from across California and puts Kern County on the map.
“When more than 32,500 of your neighbors sign their name to something, that’s so encouraging and speaks to the importance of CALM to this community. Kern County spoke clearly, and we are humbled by that trust. Now our job is to carry that energy all the way to November and finish what this community started.”
— Jim Damian, Businessman & President of the Board, Protect CALM Zoo
CALM Zoo is the only zoo in the country dedicated exclusively to California’s native species, welcoming more than 100,000 visitors annually. For a lot of Kern County families, it was the first place they ever saw a mountain lion up close, or watched a golden eagle spread its wings, or learned that the desert they drive through every day is alive in ways they never expected. The Master Plan is about making sure that CALM exists for future generations in new and exciting ways.
A YES vote funds the most ambitious vision CALM Zoo has seen since it opened its gates in 1983. Expanded and modernized wildlife habitats. New educational facilities that connect Kern County children to California’s natural world. A redesigned entry experience. A wildlife rehabilitation hub that would make CALM Zoo a leader in California conservation. The goal is a destination-class facility, the kind that draws families from across the Central Valley, not just from down the street. Fresno County built that kind of zoo when they passed a sales tax measure to support the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. Kern County has the same chance in November.
“Forty years ago, CALM Zoo was a dream that this community fought for. Today, over 32,500 signatures later, a continuation of that dream is on the ballot. If Kern County votes yes in November, the families who walk through those gates twenty years from now will know the community fought to protect that dream for them.”
— Madelyn Janssen, CALM Board Member and Former KGET Reporter
The measure is funded by a 1/8 of one percent local sales tax. On a $5 purchase, that’s less than a penny. It won’t change what Kern County families buy, where they shop, or how they live. But it will change what their children inherit.
The tax is dedicated exclusively to CALM Zoo’s Master Plan. It cannot be redirected to other county programs or absorbed into a general fund. Every dollar it generates goes to the zoo, overseen by independent auditors, for the life of the measure. Once the County certifies the measure, it will go to voters on November 3, 2026. That is what voters will decide.
Kern County has spoken. Now it’s time to finish what more than 32,500 people started. Visit ProtectCALMZoo.org to add your name as an endorser, follow the campaign, and help carry this across the finish line in November.
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About CALM Zoo
The California Living Museum (CALM Zoo) is the only zoo in the country dedicated exclusively to California’s native species. Located in Bakersfield, CALM Zoo has served over 100,000 visitors annually since its founding in 1983. CALM Zoo’s mission is to forge a connection and appreciation between the community and the California ecosystem through education, guest experiences, and conservation. Learn more at calmzoo.org.
About the Campaign
ProtectCALMZoo.org is the home of the campaign to qualify a community measure supporting CALM Zoo’s 20-year Master Plan for the November ballot. For more information or to get involved, visit ProtectCALMZoo.org. Petitions are available to sign in person at CALM Zoo.