Newsletter - Spring 2014

PASO PACÍFICO

S P R I N G 2 0 1 4

MAKING CONNECTIONS FOR CONSERVATION

Cover: Miguel Ordeñana, the wildlife biologist helping coordinate our jaguar conservation effort, sets a camera trap in hopes of catching a glimpse of resident wildlife.

Dear Friends,

Springtime is a time of renewal for many, and the dry tropical forest

of Central America is no exception. During March and April, the

annual seasonal drought is at its peak intensity. Nicaraguan farmers

use this time to prepare their fields, burning brush and plowing.

Wildlife care for their young, relying on fat stores, and wait for the

onset of rains in early May. The grayish and leafless dry tropical

forest sits dormant. When the rains do arrive, the forest turns a

fresh green and wildlife come to feed on the new buds. Farmers

move quickly to plant their crops. At this time, Paso Pacífico must

also move quickly to plant the thousands of native trees we have

raised from seed, and to watch the movements of wildlife through

our remote cameras and radio-tracking. We hope to share more

about what we are learning from this monitoring in our next

newsletter. In the meantime, enjoy this, our quarterly newsletter.

Thanks for your support and friendship.

Warm Regards,

Sarah M. Otterstrom, Ph.D.

Founder & Executive Director

WHERE WE WORK

The Paso del Istmo Biological Corridor (Passage of the Isthmus) is a magical land-scape that includes rich tropical forests, freshwater lakes, Pacific coastline and marine areas, and traditional Nicaraguan farmland. This corridor serves as a model for partner-ing with communities and is the foundation of our long-term vision to connect habitat northward across Central America. Located along the 15-mile-wide isthmus between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific Ocean, this narrow passageway has historically served as a land bridge for wildlife migrating between North and South America. Today, the Paso del Istmo hosts extraordinary biological diversity with a range of habitats that include endangered dry tropical forests and fresh-water wetlands, and which host important species such as the endangered Black-handed Spider Monkey and the Yellow-naped Ama-zon Parrot.

P A S O D E L I S T M OB I O L O G I C A L C O R R I D O R

NICARAGUA

COSTA RICA PANAMA

HONDURASGUATEMALA

BELIZE

EL SALVADOR

PASO DEL ISTMO

CUBA

MEXICO

COLUMBIA

JAMAICA

There’s never a dull moment in the Paso del Istmo, and so far 2014 has been no exception. Shortly after the new year, we were ecstatic to learn that one of our camera traps had captured images of a jaguar in the lowland dry tropical forest. Since that video, we have found more evidence of jaguars in the isthmus, including photos, videos and tracks.

The camera traps that recorded the first jaguar – and all kinds of other wildlife, such as ocelots, agoutis, and even the occasional sloth and monkey – are a key tool in our wildlife-monitoring program. But this year’s jaguar sightings were especially important and were even featured in Nicaraguan newspapers. Why is this discovery so important? Well, jaguars have been extinct in the dry forests of Nicaragua’s Pacific coast for decades. We believe that jaguars may be moving into our area from Costa Rica, signalling the first steps of repopulating dry forests all along the western shores of Central America.

Restoring jaguar populations in the Paso del Istmo is a matter of critical importance, since these cats are top predators in neotropical forests. When jaguars disappear, it has effects on all of the herbivorous animals that they feed on, and changes in their populations can then influence the

very structure and regeneration of the forest. Losing jaguars causes a ripple effect throughout the entire ecosystem. Documenting a jaguar in this region has added even more urgency to our mission to conserve and restore the tropical dry forests of the Paso del Istmo, helping us envision the day when photographing jaguars – or their prey animals, like peccaries and white-tailed deer – is a regular occurrence. As a result of our discovery, we have expanded our jaguar conservation program over the last several months.

The discovery of the jaguar has coincided with an increase in reports of predator attacks on livestock; these events put jaguars and other predators at risk since angry ranchers often respond by attempting to shoot the animal. We therefore established a compensation program to help offset the financial loss to local farmers who have lost domestic animals to jaguar predation: farmers receive a payment for livestock killed, as well as for verified reports of jaguar prints and signs. To complement this program (and to eventually make it unnecessary) we are also working with farmers to learn about and improve livestock management practices so that they can avoid putting their animals at risk in the first place. Landowners

FROM THE F IELD

Kim Williams-Guillén, Ph.D. Director of Conservation Science

Paso PacíficoKim is a conservation scientist whose main interests involve the role of agricultural and

human-managed lands in tropical mam-mal conservation. She coordinates Paso

Pacífico’s long-term biodiversity monitoring programs and the application of conser-vation science for target species such as

jaguars and spider monkeys.

THE WORD OF THE SEASON

“ TA C OTA L”

also participate in regular workshops to learn about jaguars and their importance to the forest so that they will start to view carnivores in a more positive light.

Of course, we always complement conservation action with high-quality research. I have been working closely with LA-based carnivore biologist Miguel Ordeñana to increase the number of camera traps we have deployed (currently 32) so that we can determine not just the status of the jaguars, but of the herbivorous animals they eat.

Our Junior Rangers are also assisting us in these monitoring efforts, setting up their very own camera traps. Through our education programs our Junior Rangers are learning how to recognize jaguar tracks and the importance of jaguars in the food chain. The Junior Rangers have not yet photographed a jaguar with their camera traps, but they have captured

some grey fox and a few other smaller predators. By learning about these wildlife monitoring techniques, and the animals they hope to record, these children are learning about biodiversity, ecology, and the importance of being good stewards of the land.

We owe a big thanks to a number of organizations and individuals who have made our jaguar education and research programs possible, including the Woodland Park Zoo, Los Angeles Zoo, Association of Zoos and Aquariums, Man and Nature Foundation, the USFS - Institute for International Tropical Forestry, and local landowner Kevin Shea. This summer we will be capturing and tagging a jaguar to monitor its movements, so tune into our social media pages and future newsletters to trace the path of this jaguar along with us!

The weedy plant growth that follows two to three years after agriculture abandonment. This growth is a precursor to second-ary forests and is a desirable step in the return of the forest. Tacotal is the most common type of plant community in the Paso del Istmo, highlighting the opportunity for restoration.

In one of our community workshops, Tortuga residents help Paso Pacífico Rangers map the local area. Collaborating with commu-nity members and utilizing their local knowledge help us better understand the finer details of the Paso del Istmo and how we can protect it.

Paso Pacífico Junior Rangers set a camera trap in the forest near their community in hopes of documenting local wildlife. Through our education programs these kids are also learning the impor-tance of conserving the entire dry forest ecosystem.

“ I f h a p p i n e s s c o n s i s t s i n t h e nu m b e r o f p l e a s i n g e m o t i o n s t h a t o c c u py o u r m i n d , h ow t r u e i s i t t h a t t h e c o n t e m p l a t i o n o f n a t u r e , w h i c h a lw ay s g i ve s r i s e t o t h e s e e m o t i o n s , i s o n e o f t h e g r e a t s o u r c e s o f h a p p i n e s s . ' ' - Thomas Be l l

The Natur a l i s t in Nicar agua , 1874

When Paso Pacífico was first formed, we realized we needed a special leader with expert knowledge in organizational management and who also had the patience for a grassroots start-up. Sandra Pearson was the perfect person for this role. Not only did she have great experience in board leadership, but she was passionate about wildlife conservation and had a real concern for people, especially women. Sandra agreed to serve as Board President and worked for two terms helping Sarah Otterstrom, our Executive Director, to move the organization towards its mission.

As President, Sandra led us through important milestones and achievements. She helped see Paso Pacífico through its first large-scale reforestation project, funded through the sale of carbon credits and validated at the Gold Level under the CCB Standard. She was present when we tagged our first sea turtle with a satellite transmitter. She helped get our non-profit structure in place and advised us as we moved from a volunteer start-up to an organization with more than thirty employees. We would not be where we are today without her guidance. Sandra continues to advise Paso Pacífico and works to share our mission with donors and friends. We will always be grateful to our founding Board President.

Sandra’s grandmother was born in Nicaragua as the daughter of a prominent biologist and natural historian, Miguel Ramírez Goyena. When Sandra visited Nicaragua for the first time, she paid a visit to the high school named for her great-grandfather and consulted with the national archives to learn of his important contributions to Nicaragua. Each year Sandra makes a generous donation to the organization in honor of her Nana and her Nicaraguan family. We are grateful and proud to receive these gifts and to honor the legacy of Miguel Ramírez Goyena.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT

THE WORD OF THE SEASON

“ TA C OTA L”

S A N D R A P E A R S O N

· At the beginning of the year, our camera trap footage revealed a jaguar 500 meters from the Pacific Ocean in an area that is highly populated with many small farms. Until then, jaguars were thought to be extinct in dry forests along Central America’s Pacific coast. We are continuing to monitor jaguar populations to better understand their habitat needs, and we have initiated a compensation and education program to protect jaguars from being killed by farmers whose livestock is threatened by these large predators.

· In January, we built a new sea turtle nursery at El Coco beach to protect sea turtle eggs from being stolen by poachers. This is our second sea turtle nursery, both of which are operated completely by women.

· We enrolled 100 new children in our Junior Ranger program at the beginning of the year, bringing the total number of participants in the program to 200 children from five different communities.

· It is nesting season for the endangered Yellow-naped Amazon parrot, and our Forest Rangers have begun monitoring nests and supporting our incentive program to deter poachers from stealing and selling parrots on the black market.

· In February, we launched a crowd-funding campaign to support our Binoculars for Slingshots program, an exchange replacing the slingshots children use to shoot birds with their own pair of binoculars. Our goal was to raise enough to purchase 100 pairs of binoculars and the shipping costs to Nicaragua. The campaign ended April 12th and we raised $8,556, thanks to you! The binoculars will be heading out to the kids over the next couple of months.

· Over the last three months we have been monitoring bat populations at Masaya Volcano. We are capturing bats and attaching radio telemetry transmitters to them in order to determine the local colony size and its impact on insect pests.

· In February, we affixed aluminum tags to sea turtle flippers to help us identify which local beaches solitary nesters visit so we can better prepare our efforts to protect nesting turtles and their hatchlings.

· We recruited the help of an intern to begin working with local community members to pilot methods for improved native stingless bee honey production. He is collecting baseline information on bee diversity in the area and investigating the pollen resources that the bees rely on.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THIS QUARTER

Paso Pacífico Sea Turtle Ranger Daniel Sánchez explains the life cycle of mangrove trees near the community of Ostional.

The B lack-handed Sp ider Monkey i s . . .

3. ...one of Paso Pacifico’s flagship species used to promote local pride in wildlife and conservation.

1. ...the third most intelligent non-human primate behind orangutans and chimpanzees and just ahead of gorillas and all other monkeys.

2. ...critically endangered in Central America due to habitat loss, hunting, and illegal trading.

D I D Y O U K N O W ?

Our Black-handed Spider Monkey Conservation Program is made pos-sible through support from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund and the Prince Bernhard Nature Fund. We have recently expanded our spider monkey monitoring program to include tree phenology in order to better understand spider monkey diet. We have also begun to study important grouping behaviors within the troops. Primatologist Dr. Stephanie Spehar from the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh and Mickey Mouse visited the Paso del Istmo this past Feb-ruary to help train the Rangers in new monitoring methods. We are grateful for our partners in conservation.

WHO FUNDS OUR PROJECTS?

Paso Pacífico Junior Rangers pause to pose with Mickey Mouse during one of their field trips to observe spider monkeys in their natural habitat.

Board of Directors

Lotte Roache, PresidentRetired non-profit professional

Santa Barbara, California

Gian Marco Palazio, SecretaryPresident, Café Las Flores

Managua ,Nicaragua

George Gorman, TreasurerProgressive Assets Management

Berkeley, California

Juan Marco Alvarez Executive Director, Business Council for Sustainable Development

San Salvador, El Salvador

Sean CarneyPresident, Finite Carbon

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Frank JoyceDirector and Instructor, EAP Costa Rica: Tropical Biology and

Conservation, Monteverde InstituteMonteverde, Costa Rica

Diana PritchardAnthropologist, University of Sussex

Bedford, England

Christine SchmidtAssistant Dean of Advancement, College of Agriculture and

Environmental Sciences, University of CaliforniaDavis, California

This month our list includes the names of the

community Forest Rangers who play a vital role

in collecting wildlife monitoring data for species

including the Black-handed Monkey and the jaguar.

Paso Pacífico Forest Rangers

Miguel Angel Meléndez

José Francisco Vanegas

José Felipe García

Felix Antonio Lara Martínez

Hector Luís Espinoza

Carlos José Chávez

Efraín Mercado

Cristian Bonilla

Juan Carlos Pavón

Claudia Perla

Marvin Chévez

Liza González

Country Director

Kalinga Rodríguez

Ranger Supervisor

FEATURED STAFF

USAP. O. Box 1244 • Ventura, CA 93002-1244Phone: 805-643-7044Email: [email protected]: www.pasopacifico.org

NICARAGUACarretera a Masaya Km 12.4 Residencial Villas del Prado, Casa No. 7 Managua, Nicaragua Phone: +505-2279-8423

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