Winter Storm Fern: Closeout

San Antonio Zoo ride-out team

As Winter Storm Fern has tapered off and conditions continue to stabilize across impacted areas, ZDR3 is closing out active storm monitoring and returning to normal readiness posture. At this time, we have no outstanding requests for support, which is an encouraging outcome and a strong reflection of the preparation, coordination, and professionalism demonstrated by facilities and teams throughout this event.

While storms often create challenges during and immediately after impact, it is equally important to recognize when an event has passed without the need for direct response. This speaks to the strength of routine preparedness, sound decision-making, and the steady work of facilities and operations teams who ensure safety and continuity even under difficult conditions.

As this system moved through the region, many of the challenges facilities had anticipated became operational considerations in real time. Concerns such as extreme cold, ice accumulation, and potential power instability translated into frozen plumbing, stress on heating systems, increased monitoring of life-support equipment, and difficulties with staff access and transportation. For many, ride-out teams served as the backbone of continuity, maintaining on-site operations, monitoring critical systems, and responding quickly to changing conditions when outside access was limited.

Facilities prepared for fuel usage, backup power demands, and animal warmth management, and in some cases those preparations were actively tested. What was forecasted as “possible disruption” manifested as extended shifts, contingency adjustments, and careful prioritization of animal welfare and staff safety. We would like to sincerely thank the many teams who indicated a willingness to deploy if needed. Although no assistance was requested during this event, your readiness is a critical strength of this network and an essential part of why ZDR3 can operate with confidence and calm.

We also appreciate the professionals who generously shared their experience, insight, and practical guidance to support facilities preparing for extreme winter conditions.

• Betsey Brewer, Zoological Director, Southwick’s Zoo, MA
• Kathy Diekman, Director, Chahinkapa Zoo, ND
• Terry Lincoln, Director, Dakota Zoo, ND
• Jordan Patch, Owner, Animal Adventure Park, NY
• Tim Sampson, Curator, John Ball Zoo, MI
• Tom Schmaltz, Retired Curator, Chahinkapa Zoo, ND



We gathered their collective wisdom to create a blog, Cold Weather & Ice Preparedness Considerations for Zoological Facilities, that we hope will prove useful for you and your staff now, and in the future.

Throughout this event, the ZDR3 core team maintained situational awareness by:

• Monitoring storm conditions and facility exposure
• Individually reaching out to over 100 potentially impacted ZDR3 Network facilities, reminding them how to contact ZDR3 and how to submit information about potential areas of concern. This gave ZDR3 personnel a better understanding of potential areas of resource needs as the storm unfolded.
• Reviewing potential impact areas across the ZDR3 Network
• Participating in coordinated calls with emergency management partners
• Ensuring internal readiness, should support be requested
• Standing resources by for one impacted facility contending with power loss
• Connecting with one impacted facility to share information on available funding streams and financial recovery resources

In parallel, our participation in broader coordination calls allowed us to:

• Maintain visibility of zoological facilities within larger emergency response conversations
• Identify resources outside the ZDR3 Network if needed, reducing pressure on facilities and response teams
• Compile and share safety and preparedness messaging

Finally, we extend our appreciation to all facility, operations, and animal care teams who carried the responsibility of maintaining safe conditions during this storm. Your work, often unseen and taken for granted, is what allows facilities to function safely for both staff and animals. Our Facebook post about ride-out teams was, by far, the most popular and widely shared of all the posts we created to educate and inform our followers about how zoological facilities manage during major weather events. Thanks to San Antonio Zoo for adding a shot of their team to that post.

If your facility captured any photos during storm preparation, operations, or recovery, we would appreciate you sending them to us. Sharing images is a powerful way for us to highlight the professionalism, resilience, and dedication of our network members, and to show the real-world work that happens behind the scenes during these events. Photos can be sent to communications@zdr3.org and, with your permission, may be featured in future ZDR3 communications, with your facility attributed and tagged on social media.

As always, if your facility has questions, concerns, or would benefit from peer connection, please contact us at responsesupport@zdr3.org. Our team is here to support you.

We are Stronger Together