According to information provided by Lehigh Valley Zoo President and CEO Melissa Borland, the July 4 article in The Press regarding the zoo and the Lehigh County commissioners meeting incorrectly stated the land and animals are owned by the county and leased to the zoo for $1 a year.

“This is not fully the case. The animals are owned by AZA and the Lehigh Valley Zoological Society, not the county,” Borland emailed The Press. “However, the elk and the bison in the preserve, are owned by the county, in which the county contracts with the Zoo to care for the elk and the bison.

“The Lehigh Valley Zoological Society runs independent for the county outside of the lease of the land and the requirements to satisfy those lease requirements, which is leased for a payment of $1 a year.”

The Press apologizes for the error.