By Jason G. Goldman This is the first article in a three-part series on connectivity. It was the first of March, 1872, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act into law. With his signature, the nation's first national park was officially born. It's hard to say exactly where the idea for a national park came from, but the origins of Yellowstone seem to lie in...
This year’s pandemic is causing extra poaching for the pet trade in Central America. Endangered baby spider monkeys are now much more likely to be stolen from their mothers and sold into a life of captivity. Many want a baby spider monkey pet, but that doesn’t mean they’re meant to live with us as a pet. But there’s good news: you can help! Giving Tuesday officially kicks off the holiday...
By Jason G. Goldman Every year, millions of birds of prey migrate from summertime breeding grounds in North America to overwintering grounds in South America. One section of their pathway stretches nearly 2500 miles between central Texas and northwestern Colombia’s Chocó rainforests and is known as the Mesoamerican Land Corridor. More than five million raptors – the family of birds that includes vultures, hawks, eagles, and owls – can be...
By placing 3D-printed and GPS-enabled decoy sea turtle eggs into nests on the beach, it’s possible to gather key evidence needed to expose rampant illegal trade of the eggs, suggests a study publishing in the journal Current Biology on October 5. The researchers specifically tested how well the decoy eggs work and their safety for the endangered turtles. “Our research showed that placing a decoy into a turtle nest did...
Join the cyanoptera macaws' fight for survival! Fewer than 20 of these birds are left in Nicaragua. Nesting season is coming, and their babies are hot on the black market. They need YOU to survive in the wild. Until 9 p.m. Pacific time on September 18, 2020, your donation to our GlobalGiving campaign will be partially matched. Your gift will make it possible for us and our partners to save...
This month, we are celebrating our 15th anniversary. Wow! Our supporters have made possible a journey full of impact for endangered species, communities, and the future of the "corredor seco" region of Central America, where conservation investments have been historically very limited. We feel proud to say we are there, and our commitment is solid. From ridge to reef, from Nicaragua to California, from fishers to Junior Rangers, we say—Thank you for...
Earth Day turns 50 this year. In its honor, we invite you to make a gift supporting education for 93 children in Nicaragua. From April 20-24, your gifts under $500 will be matched at 50% by Global Giving! Our Junior Ranger program helps children ages 8-13 learn how to save nature this year in the rural areas where they live. Nicaragua's amazing biodiversity and landscapes have been significantly damaged, and these...
Local communities are critical partners in our mission, and they are now under threat. Nearly 700 cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Central America. El Salvador is completely locked down. In Nicaragua, almost no COVID-19 mitigation measures have been taken and food prices have doubled. We anticipate both food shortages and high rates of infection very soon, which means the most vulnerable people will starve as this pandemic hits...
Saving the planet requires millions of parts to be successful. You are needed. As a supporter of Paso Pacífico, you are already playing a part — but do you know how to multiply your efforts? Discover your power using the steps below! 1. Share Share our social media posts and e-newsletters, as well as the experiences you’ve had—why you have saved nature through Paso Pacífico. Have you lived in Central America...
Turquoise-browed Motmot (Eumomota superciliosa) Since the beginning of time, migratory birds have fascinated and inspired humans. They represented the renewal of life in ancient Greece, and in the Bible, they are symbols of peace and hope. To Native Americans, migratory birds symbolize concepts of unity, freedom, safe return, love, and the celebration of life. Today in almost all cultures, the flight of birds is connected to the ideas of lightness,...
Proyecto Noble—Salud y Educación helps support more than 2500 local schoolchildren across 25 rural schools in the Paso del Istmo Biological Corridor with educational supplies and nutritious school lunches. This project also helped build the Ostional Library, supports its full-time librarian, Anabel Chevez, and stocks the library with high-quality books. Moreover, it has been helping rural communities recover from last fall's major floods, which were caused by Hurricane Nate. Thanks...
I recently had the pleasure of spending a week in the company of Angelica and Antonia, who are from our Women's Oyster Cooperative in Ostional, Nicaragua. I also met Yorlin Vargas, a Paso Pacifico ranger who works a lot with the cooperative. Before I met them at Carlsbad Aquafarm, they spent time on Catalina Island and with experts at USC Wrigley Insitute, where they learned about new oyster husbandry techniques...
In 2015, our new GPS-enabled artificial egg technology was one of 16 Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge winners. From there, these eggs—now called InvestEGGators—competed with the other winning projects for three Acceleration Prizes, which would be awarded to those who made "truly remarkable progress in turning promising ideas into viable solutions positioned for scale and impact on the ground." We are thrilled to announce that we won an Acceleration Prize! Our...
Many of you may know that La Flor Wildlife Refuge is globally recognized for its important Olive Ridley sea turtle nesting beach. However, the marine protected area of 20,000 acres (7875 ha) is of equal importance to marine biodiversity. The area provides valuable habitat for juvenile hawksbill sea turtles and overwintering humpback whales from both North and South America. Some of the highest diversity in soft corals and echinoderms are...
Nicaragua is losing one of its most iconic and colorful species – the Cyanoptera macaw (Ara macao cyanoptera). This subspecies of the scarlet macaw has a distinctive wing pattern and is critically endangered: by 2015, Nicaragua's population had dwindled to a mere 14 birds! So, with support from Loro Parque Fundación, the Brandywine Zoo, Projets Plus Action, and individual donors, Paso Pacifico has been working to rescue these macaws from the...
"I feel empowered, and now I look at myself as an entrepreneur. We went from informality to having vision . . . Aspiring is not only believing in dreams, it is changing one’s attitude to see the changes." - Sonia, hostel owner, ELLAS Initiative In 2011, we had a vision: to empower female "enviropreneurs" to harness market forces and employ voluntary solutions to environmental problems in their local communities. Then, with...
We are thrilled to share a major breakthrough here on the blog! Recently we were awarded a significant grant from the IUCN-Netherlands, and that means we will be able to complete the purchase of a beautiful forest area in the heart of the Paso del Istmo. In honor of the critically endangered black-handed spider monkeys that live there, we’ve named this 120-acre property the Mono Bayo Reserve. This forest is...
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