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The leatherback sea turtle of the Eastern Pacific is a critically endangered species and only 633 adults are estimated to remain. Given the dire status of the world’s largest turtles, every individual counts! Over the past two years, Paso Pacífico has led a program called SmART (Save Marine Turtles) aimed at protecting leatherbacks and other threatened sea turtles along Nicaragua's Pacific coast.
Leatherbacks often nest alone as “solitary nesters” at locations up and down the coast, and the timing and location of the nesting activity can be difficult to predict. Therefore, Paso Pacífico recruited community leaders and hotel partners from seven beaches to participate in sea turtle monitoring as well as leadership training led by our partners at the Creative Action Institute.
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Trainees learned techniques for measuring turtles and protecting nests, and also learned important approaches that engage their communities by using art, storytelling and creative leadership. By melding art with conservation science, we developed important tools for involving community members. For example, Junior Rangers and trainees helped paint a giant canvas book about sea turtles, which we now use for presentations to children and communities on the coast.
Community members in this program have successfully protected 8 leatherback nests! In addition, 3 hawksbill turtle nests and over 50 green turtle and 200 olive ridley turtle nests were protected. These nests were saved at beaches located outside of the areas normally patrolled by Paso Pacífico's sea turtle rangers. We are hopeful that with your support, community leaders can continue to make an impact for leatherback sea turtles well into the future. The SmART program was made possible thanks to generous support from the US Fish & Wildlife Service Marine Turtle Conservation Fund, New England Biolabs Foundation, SEEturtles.org, Turtle Island Restoration Network, and the Turtle Conservancy.
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This month, we are so grateful to you, our donors! Your response to our annual appeal helped give Paso Pacífico a big boost at the end of the year. This fundraising drive brings in resources to sustain Paso Pacífico and its dedicated staff throughout the upcoming year. The recent appeal was particularly important because we are expanding our programs to El Salvador while continuing our programs in Nicaragua during political unrest.
When the need is great, true friends come through — and you, our wonderful donors, came through! At the end of 2018, you gave a record-breaking $42,500. Your support is what enables our impactful programs to continue. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
~ Alice O’Connor, Director of Development
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As we begin a new year at Paso Pacífico, we are excited to share new additions to our Board of Directors. Paso Pacífico's board members are volunteers who serve three-year terms, providing financial oversight, fundraising support, and developing strategic direction and goals for the organization.
Our incoming board members are Armando Vega, Christy Reich, and Juan Marco Alvarez. Armando is a Nicaraguan businessman and rancher with a Ph.D. in rangeland management with a passion for biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Christy is a business manager and horse breeder in Southern California. She served in the Peace Corps in West Africa and brings her experience in building community-based ecotourism ventures. Juan Marco is an expert in corporate sustainability and was the founder and executive director of SalvaNATURA, a conservation nonprofit in El Salvador.
As we welcome new board members, we also would like to express our appreciation for outgoing board members Frank Joyce, Phil Torres, and George Gorman. From providing training opportunities to staff members to advising us on scientific programs and public outreach efforts, each of these three board members made valuable contributions to our programs.
We are grateful to all of our board members, past and present, who share their time and expertise. Thank you!
Photo above: Board members Sonia Ortega, Christine Schmidt, and Juan Marco Alvarez at fall meeting in El Salvador, together with executive director Sarah Otterstrom (red hat) and our new friend.
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Help Us Protect More Leatherback Sea Turtles!
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Last year, Mongabay Latam published an in-depth article about the incredible female sea turtle rangers who work at Paso Pacífico. We were thrilled to see the article, and so were many others. Last month, that article was published in English by Mongabay. Additionally, this piece was selected by Mongabay Latam as one of the eight most inspiring environmental articles of 2018! An English version of the review article is available here. We hope you will take a look!
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PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE
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In early January, 70 volunteers of all ages participated in Paso Pacífico's 5th Annual Christmas Bird Count. Among the 130 species sighted was the spotted antbird (Hylophylax naevioides), which usually prefers higher and more humid climates and is rare to see in the lowland dry forests. We were also privileged to see the stunning crowned woodnymph (Thalurania colombica, see photo below) for the first time in our Christmas Bird Counts.
Special thanks goes to Richard Joyce, Frank Joyce and Maina Handmaker. Year after year, they have supported the organization of this count and have provided their ornithological expertise to help review and tally data. The data from the Christmas Bird Count is shared with the Audubon Society, which has been leading this activity since 1900 and uses global data from the count to identify trends in bird populations.
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![Crowned Woodnymph. Photo by Joseph C Boone [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons](https://gallery.mailchimp.com/f8efa057baa98dc98872df85c/images/01b650cf-623b-476e-adb6-81369dde1c4f.jpg)
