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CONSERVATION IN ACTION
Wishing for a vacation? It has been a long year since pandemic restrictions began. Though tourism has been hit hard worldwide, recovery will come. Analysts suggest that nature and sustainability will be at the center of tourism's return.
In El Salvador, the Wild East is one of Central America’s last roadless coasts. This little-known region presents world-class waves, pristine beaches and unique dry tropical forests. While tourism remains frozen, Paso Pacífico and our local and government partners are staying busy on Zoom. Through your support, this broad coalition is strategizing to effectively unite coastal conservation and surfing.
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Your donations for our unfolding efforts in El Salvador is vital for our planet. The forests here are home to the regionally endemic blue-tailed hummingbird (right), the endangered yellow-naped amazon parrot and the recently rediscovered critically endangered black-handed spider monkey. The forests also comprise El Salvador's largest tract of endangered tropical dry forest and host many endangered Pacific mahogany trees.
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Through your help, we and our partners are designing birding trails in the forest and coastal wetlands. Birdwatchers and hikers will be delighted by these thrilling, trill-filled ecotourism routes, and we are excited to start building trails once it is safe to do so.
In addition, we have pinpointed key forested properties and applied for funding to buy and protect the land. When realized, these plans will help this special coast stay roadless, wild, and free.
We are grateful to you for your support. We are also grateful to our on-the-ground partners such as the Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MARN), local development association ADETCO and local environmental education nonprofit Sociedad Salvaje. The birding trail development is supported by bird conservation initiatives catalyzed by Southern Wings, Partners in Flight and the Arizona Game & Fish Department.
Photos: Javier Arias (surfing), Jerry Oldenettel (blue-tailed hummingbird, cropped, used under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), Pasha Whitmire and Natasha Woodworth (coastal view)
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If you shop at Target and reside in Ventura or portions of Los Angeles County, you can vote for Paso Pacífico and help us receive more cash donations. Target Circle is a corporate giving program that empowers customers to direct Target's charitable donations. As a Target Circle shopper, your account earns votes for local charities every time you shop, and those "votes" are sitting in your account. This opportunity goes from now until the end of March.
To vote, log in to your Target Circle app or online Target account profile (some people sign up through their phone number at check-out). Then click "Voting" or "Vote now," or go to your profile and click 'Vote for nonprofits,' and choose us. Thank you!
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Our Canopy donors give each month, and we are very grateful to them. So grateful, in fact, that they now have access to an exclusive video call series! In yesterday's very first session of Paso Pacífico Direct, Canopy donors learned about what their gifts are doing in El Salvador to reconnect habitats for critically endangered black-handed spider monkeys and other wildlife. Participants also enjoyed an intimate question-and-answer session with the presenters.
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We invite you to join the Canopy Club by March 1st to get invited to the next session. Even $5 a month makes a difference, and you can give via any Paso Pacífico donate page to join.
Want to vary your monthly gifts? Check out the RoundUp App, which lets you tie your monthly donation to your spending. This method lets you donate the change from every credit card purchase and set monthly minimums and maximums.
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Scientific American is covering work you support! Their podcast 60-Second Science discussed the InvestEGGator last Monday. Listen here for exclusive clips from researcher Dr. Helen Pheasey and our executive director, Dr. Sarah Otterstrom.
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PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE
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The Asociación de Desarrollo Turístico de la Costa Oriental de El Salvador (ADETCO) is a tourism development association committed to keeping the eastern coast of El Salvador natural and wild. Over the past two years, they have been working Paso Pacífico and local environmental nonprofit Sociedad Salvaje to build a vision for sustainable tourism and to create opportunities for environmental education and nature-based tourism.
The group's commitment to sustainability is visible. For example, ADETCO member Las Flores Resort is preparing to apply for STOKE sustainability certification.
Last year, we teamed up with these partners to submit a proposal to Save the Waves Coalition, applying to designate the Wild East as a World Surfing Reserve. We are proud to support the ADETCO and its committed approach to sustainability.
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Your estate plan could provide both tax savings for you and legacy support for wildlife and communities in Central America. Please contact Executive Director Dr. Sarah Otterstrom at sarah@pasopacifico.org with any questions.
Thank you to Javier Arias, Jerry Oldenettel, Pasha Whitmire, Natasha Woodworth, Target, Helen Pheasey, Hal Brindley, Dennis Molina, SET NET Communications, and Paso Pacífico staff members Osmar Sandino and Eliza Woolley for contributing images used in this month's newsletter.
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