Brett Linsley, manager of Wildlife, Conservation, and Education, reached out to Association of Zoos and Aquariums-accredited facilities that participate in the Mexican Gray Wolf Species Survival Plan shortly after Phoenix's death and eventually connected with the California Wolf Center. Mackenzie Couch, a sixth-grade student and aspiring zoologist, wanted to "pay it forward" for the wolves and started a GoFundMe page to raise $10,000 to help cover expenses for the new wolves to travel from California to Michigan, plus necessary upgrades to their exhibit.