The man in charge of mowing the grass, building elephant breeding stalls and helping to raise a few million dollars for the Pittsburgh Zoo's new Somerset County facility has close ties to top management.

Dayton Baker Listen in Comments about the Pittsburgh Zoo's Conservation Center in Somerset County: Dayton Baker on his new role Zoo spokeswoman Connie George on the marital issue

D ayton Baker, husband of zoo president Barbara Baker, has been named farm manager for a former hunting ranch that's to become a breeding facility for African elephants, the zoo announced yesterday.

The 724-acre International Conservation Center is to become home to up to 20 elephants. The Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium plans to expand the facility to other endangered species later, including Grevy's zebras, African wild dogs and possibly cheetahs. The center will be the first of its kind in the United States, said spokeswoman Connie George.

Wildlife Land Management, Mr. Baker's consulting firm, has a one-year contract to manage the property. The firm, whose only employee so far is Mr. Baker, also will be involved in fund raising for the facility and research in wildlife conservation.

The zoo would not disclose the terms of the contract, which will be finalized sometime this month, but characterized it as a middle-management position.

The contract is the second for Wildlife Land Management, which Mr. Baker founded this year. The first is with the National Aviary, where Mr. Baker was director for 15 years before stepping down recently.

The zoo board's executive committee unanimously approved Mr. Baker in late June after three finalists were picked from a pool of 35. The zoo advertised the job internally and in the Somerset and Johnstown areas, said Ms. George.

No national search was conducted because it was not a high-level position, she said. The zoo also wanted a person with local connections to help with fund raising and working with foundations.

Mr. Baker will report to Frank Cartieri, chief operating officer of the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Dr. Baker was not involved in the search or selection process, zoo officials said.

Dr. Baker said she and her husband discussed the issue, but that she didn't consider it a problem since he wouldn't report to her. She likened his position to that of other zoo contractors for security, food services and maintenance, all of whom also report to the chief operating officer.

As to whether a broader search was considered, she said, "We never had any intention of doing a national search. We wanted someone already familiar with our local community." She said someone who knew the agriculture, weather patterns and people of the area was needed, and it didn't make sense to look outside the state.

"The board typically does not get involved in hiring," said Gary R. Claus, chairman of the board. But because of Mr. Baker's relationship with the zoo president, the board wanted to create "a higher bar" for the position, he said. Mr. Baker was clearly the most qualified candidate, he said.

Mr. Baker, 51, worked on his mother's family dairy farm in Salmsdorf, Germany, and on farms in Indiana as a boy. He holds a bachelor's degree in agriculture from Purdue University and a master's in wildlife biology from Clemson University and another in education from the University of Illinois. He was curator of the "Farm in the Zoo" -- a model working farm at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago -- where he met Dr. Baker.

He worked for five years as an extension agent in South Carolina and Illinois. He previously worked at the Pittsburgh Zoo, helping establish its conservation research department, before becoming director of the aviary on what was supposed to be an interim basis. He remained there for 15 years.

Mr. Baker said turning 50 last year "made me sit back and take account." He wanted to return to some of the things he had most enjoyed in his life, "such exciting things as hay production and managing wildlife." He had once wanted to emulate Marlin Perkins of "Wild Kingdom" fame, and occupied the famous television zoologist's office at the Lincoln Park Zoo. The conservation center job was a good match, he said.

The former Glen Savage Ranch is in Fairchance and Allegheny townships "about a mile from where God lost his shoes," Mr. Claus said. It belonged to Jerry and Iris Leydig, who ran a hunting reserve where clients paid for the chance to bag game such as wild boar, bison and elk.

Zoo officials said they appreciated the irony of turning the ranch into a preserve for a much-hunted species like the African elephant.

The zoo paid $2.2 million -- donated by a Virginia-based environmental nonprofit group called The Conservation Fund -- for the property, which is fenced and has a lodge with a restaurant, three houses, a maintenance shop, hay barns, grain bins, paddocks and breeding facilities. There are hay fields on about 350 acres; the remainder is wooded.

Mr. Baker will manage the farm, oversee the development of breeding facilities and help raise money. More than $1 million toward the elephant breeding facility -- expected to cost about $1.5 million -- has been raised, Mr. Claus said. Future phases for elephants and for other animals are expected to cost millions more.

There are no zoo animals and no staff there currently, though cameras have been installed so that the area can be monitored, Ms. George said. The elephants will start being moved in when the facilities are ready, most likely early next year. The Pittsburgh Zoo's bull elephant, Jackson, is one of only three breeding bulls in the country. The Philadelphia Zoo has already committed three females to the project.

Mr. Baker will not supervise zoo employees when they begin work there, but will serve as a liaison.

The zoo plans to offer summer youth programs at the facility, which will not be open to the public. Those programs would not start until the facility is up and running, likely in 2009, Ms. George said.