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In Central America’s dry tropical forests, the dry season is at its peak. Most trees have lost their leaves and each stream bed has only dust. At this time, the resilience of the region’s unique flora and fauna is on full display. For example, our research has found that during the dry season, black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi) stop relying on scarce fruit and instead turn to flowers and epiphytes for nourishment. They also combine in larger groups that work together to locate sources of food. Their unity and resourcefulness inspire us.
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While these monkeys remain critically endangered, we can save them by protecting them from hunters and helping their forests recover. Our efforts have been helping their numbers increase, and because of donors like you, we are able to continue our work. Last month, friends like you supported our Forest Fur Babies campaign. Because of their contributions, our five forest rangers are able to focus on protecting baby spider monkeys and their mothers from hunters in the Nicaragua's Paso del Istmo wildlife corridor. We are very grateful for the support these donors have given.
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In El Salvador, our work protecting rediscovered groups of spider monkeys is picking up steam. We located Salvadoran spider monkeys last year in the forests surrounding Lake Olomega. Today, two local community members are tracking the troop's seasonal movements as food availability changes. The photo at right shows one of the elusive monkeys.
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Thanks to the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund and to partners at El Salvador's Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales for making this work possible. We will continue to work with these partners and local nonprofit Territorios Vivos El Salvador to develop a strategy to protect black-handed spider monkeys in the country by restoring forest corridors.
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We are pleased to introduce the newest member of our team in Nicaragua, Osmar Benito Sandino! As a marine biologist, Osmar's role is to lead the research in our marine conservation program. A native to the colonial city of León, Osmar grew up dreaming of becoming a marine biologist. In 2015, he did an internship with Paso Pacífico, assisting researchers with underwater surveys during reef monitoring. More recently, Osmar attended the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, where he earned a master’s degree in marine science. During his studies, he researched invertebrates in Nicaragua's marine areas. We are happy to welcome Osmar back and to have his valuable scientific input for our marine conservation programs in the Paso del Istmo wildlife corridor.
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Our executive director, Dr. Sarah Otterstrom, made a long-awaited visit in February to our programs in Nicaragua. Our staff there held a team lunch (thanks to support from the King family) and made a video to express gratitude to our many donors and friends.
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Over the past two months, we have had the immense privilege of strengthening our ties with two high-impact organizations in Nicaragua: Fundación Uno and FUNDENIC. Leaders from the two organizations, including conservation pioneer Dr. Jaime Incer Barquero (pictured above), visited us in the Paso del Istmo wildlife corridor, where they visited with our environmental education staff and toured a beach protected by our sea turtle rangers. Later, our executive director traveled to the FUNDENIC-managed Reserva Natura to learn about the massive restoration effort underway at this reserve. The reserve maintains a healthy tree nursery that annually grows more than 200,000 native trees!
Conservation organization FUNDENIC has been making its mark in Nicaragua since 1993. It has helped catalyze major conservation investments from the private sector, including compensation programs that are helping restore dry tropical forests. Since 1998, Fundación Uno has quietly supported conservation, health, education, and cultural programs throughout Nicaragua, including putting together one of the region's largest collections of culturally significant books. Highlights of their environmental work include a massive reforestation effort along the Pan-American highway and a botanical garden that hosts hundreds of land-race varieties (local strains) of food crops.
These organizations have much to teach us. We are truly grateful for the opportunity to meet with their leaders and we look forward to building future programs together.
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Good Morning America aired a segment about Nicaragua’s sea turtles last week and we were delighted to be included. The program shared about our InvestEGGator technology and community-centered approach to turtle conservation. Reporter Will Reeve explained, “Life here is about helping your family, and often these poachers don’t know any other better way to provide for their family. But part of these efforts to bring them into the fold are to educate [community members] that you can help the sea turtle population and help your family, so it’s definitely a community effort.” Watch it here.
This video includes photos by Matt Dolkas and Phil Torres.
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PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE
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Over the past four years, we have worked in close partnership with ornithologist Mary Whitfield (above) and her team at the Southern Sierra Research Station (SSRS). Based in the Kern River Valley, California, this conservation-research organization has expertise in endangered migratory birds such as the southwest willow flycatcher (Empidonax trailii extimus) and the western yellow-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus).
In February, SSRS staff once again joined our team in Central America to explore new sites in El Salvador and survey for overwintering willow flycatchers at the long-term monitoring stations in Nicaragua. These efforts were well rewarded when we spotted and then captured a southwest willow flycatcher that had twice been banded in San Diego County by USGS scientists! This finding reinforces our knowledge of the migratory connections between southern California and Nicaragua and underlines the importance of protecting Nicaragua’s dry forest and wetland habitats. They also highlight the value of public support here in the United States. This program is made possible by congressional funding via the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act and includes other partners such as the Albright Lab at the University of Nevada, Reno and the Western Working Group of the Partners in Flight Network.
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Thank you to Ryan Candee, Offset Alliance, Matt Dolkas, Orlando Jarquín, and Paso Pacífico staff members Jarinton Garcia, Anabel Chévez, Osmar Sandino, and Yorlin Vargas for contributing photos used in this month's newsletter!
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