November 2022: Leatherback sea turtle comes to nest!

Your gifts help turtles thrive. Thank you!

CONSERVATION IN ACTION

You may have heard that nesting sea turtles return to the beach where they were born. Well, this is not the case for every species. The critically endangered Eastern Pacific leatherback turtle returns to nest at beaches within a narrow region. Really, the nest could be laid at any wide, dark, and sandy beach that the turtle selects. Unfortunately, sometimes she will nest on unprotected beaches where poachers are waiting to steal turtle eggs.

The only option to stop poachers on unprotected beaches is to generate goodwill within the community. Your support helps support our community sea turtle rangers and their non-violent approach to addressing the illegal turtle egg trade, meaning that we keep close communications with members of the community. As a result of these relationships, local poachers will call up our rangers when extremely rare sea turtles like leatherbacks come up on the beach. We compensate poachers for delivering these types of nests, and promptly and carefully place the eggs in the hatchery managed by our team.

Earlier this month, a poacher sent us this photo (below left) of a nesting leatherback and collected the eggs in a sack (below right). Within a few hours, our rangers met up with them and received the large-sized leatherback eggs. We are working hard to keep the nursery in good condition for these nests and anticipate the baby turtles hatching later this month!

Thank you for saving this leatherback nest!

Nesting leatherback as seen by an anonymous poacher.

Leatherback eggs turned in to Paso Pacífico! Photo taken by the anonymous poacher.

Green sea turtle with #GivingTuesday graphic

Tomorrow is #GivingTuesday. Thank you for choosing us as one of your charities! Share this link: pasopacifico.org/saveturtles

KIDS LOVE TURTLES TOO!

TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Sea turtle ranger Liessi Calero has been a member of our team for more than eight years. She is very knowledgeable about sea turtles and has had much success tending to nests of critically endangered hawksbill and leatherback sea turtles.

Liessi shared that she loves working close to nature and also appreciates being able to make a bigger financial contribution to her family. One of her favorite things to do on the job is to assist hatching turtles and then release the baby turtles, especially in the presence of children (see above).

Liessi is from the community of El Coco. Her daughter who is an active Junior Ranger. We are so proud to have her on our team, and we thank you for supporting Liessi.

Rick Smith with Paso Pacífico rangers 15 years ago

IN GRATITUDE

Fifteen years ago, Rick Smith, a retired park ranger and superintendent with the National Park Service, visited our program sites in Nicaragua. There he learned about the immense challenges posed by sea turtle egg extraction. Under his training and leadership, we formed a team of community rangers. Now, more than forty community rangers have served in Nicaragua and El Salvador, protecting and monitoring wildlife, leading restoration efforts, and serving as an example to their families and community. Following the success of the first team of sea turtle rangers, Rick suggested we launch a Junior Ranger program.

Last month, our executive director and Rick Smith gave a presentation at the Association of National Park Service Rangers annual conference. The attendees expressed their admiration for our ranger program in Central America. None of this would have been possible without the support and guidance of Rick Smith. Thank you Rick!

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IN THE NEWS

Today, you are probably learning about volcanic activity on the Big Island of Hawaii. Another large volcano has also recently returned to activity. The San Miguel volcano (pictured erupting above), also known as Chaparrastique volcano, is a stratovolcano that rises up nearly 7000 ft above sea level and is just 9 miles from the city of San Miguel (population 500,000) in El Salvador. Over the past two weeks, the Chaparrastique volcano has undergone numerous eruptions.

Our community rangers at Lake Olomega have a clear view of the daily eruptions, but are at a safe distance. Three species of endemic sub-species live on this volcano, and their habitat could become compromised with a large explosion. We are watching carefully, with your support.

PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE

Dr. Sarah Otterstrom and Claudia Thomas Riche at FLII CA&C

Early this month, our executive director attended FLII CA&C, a conference focused on social impact and investment for and from Central America and the Caribbean. Her attendance was made possible thanks to the Ashoka Foundation, which supports Sarah as an Ashoka Fellow (she is photographed above with Claudia Thomas Riche, an Ashoka Fellow from Haiti).

Highlights of this meeting included participation in a workshop to identify opportunities to strengthen the social impact sector in the region, conversations with indigenous leaders in Guatemala about their efforts to conserve forests, and new opportunities for collaboration with conservationists and social change leaders, especially in the area of forestry.

Thank you for your support!

INSTAGRAM HIGHLIGHTS