Conservation

Turtles on the Upswing

| ChrisHardmanWriter

ENCOURAGING NEWS COMES FROM the beaches of Tortuguero, Costa Rica, where endangered green sea turtles nest by the thousands. Continuing an upward trend, the 2005 nesting season was one of the busiest on record with a total of 91,615 sea turtle nests recorded over a 4-month period. Researchers from the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC) documented that in one night alone, sea turtles laid 3,000 nests on a 21-mile section of beach. In spite of poachers, beach disturbances, and turtle-eating jaguars, Tortuguero’s sea turtle population is growing steadily. “What we’re seeing are the positive benefits of long-term conservation,” explains Dan Evans of the CCC’s education program.

Located in northern Costa Rica on the Caribbean coast, Tortuguero supports the largest nesting population of green sea turtles in the Atlantic Ocean. By day the sand tells the story of the evening’s activity where rows of perfectly parallel turtle tracks cover the beach. Some of the tracks lead past the high tide mark to the deep pits the turtles dig to lay their eggs, while others only reach halfway up the beach and head back to the water. Researchers call those tracks “half moons,” when a turtle starts the egg-laying process but then changes her mind and returns to the sea. At night, it’s much harder to track the turtles’ activity. The black sand reflects the darkness of the night sky, and unless the moon is clearly visible, it’s nearly impossible to see.

Scientists and volunteers have been patrolling this beach since 1955 when renowned scientist Archie Carr set up a turtle-monitoring program with his students, friends, and family. At the time, Tortuguero’s green sea turtle population seemed on the verge of collapse. But in the years that followed, Carr and his successors at the CCC led a sea turtle campaign that helped sea turtle nesting populations rise from a low of 19,731 nests in 1972 to an all-time high of 92,523 nests in 1998. In half a century they established a permanent research station, welcomed the start of the ecotourism boom, developed a model volunteer research assistant program, and became an international force for sea turtle conservation. The data generated by the CCC’s nearly 50 years of sea turtle work has helped scientists understand the mysteries of the sea turtle and develop strategies to protect it.

CCC’s presence in Costa Rica has had positive effects on the people of Tortuguero as well. CCC collaborates with the local government, provides a variety of jobs, participates in school programs, and assists resident entrepreneurs with their ecotourism ventures. “The community has really shifted and embraces the idea that a sea turtle is worth more alive than dead,” Evans explains. Instead of killing turtles for their meat or shells, villagers can make money by hosting, guiding, or providing services to tourists coming to see the turtles.

Beginning in 1997, the scientists added a new data set to their study when beach-going jaguars started to regularly visit Tortuguero. Based on tracks, motion sensor video, and chance encounters, the researchers have determined that at least one adult male and one female and her cubs are coming out of Tortuguero National Park’s forest to feed on nesting sea turtles. CCC Scientific Director Sebastian Troëng estimates that jaguars kill about 100 of Tortuguero’s sea turtles each year, and although that number may seem high, Both Evans and Troëng agree that jaguars eating turtles are part of a natural process that doesn’t pose a threat to Tortuguero’s thriving sea turtle population. For more information about CCC and their volunteer program, visit ccc@cccturtle.org or call 1-800-678-7853.

Published in Americas magazine: By Chris Hardman

Sustaining a Splendid Species

| ChrisHardmanWriter

CAUTIOUSLY WE PLOD THROUGH a cattle pasture trying to avoid slipping in the mud or stepping on piles of dung. In the treetops above us, we hear raucous screeching, and the closer we get, the louder and more insistent the screeching becomes. Our guide, Alexander, sets up his spotting scope and waves to us eagerly while we stumble through the tall, wet grass to reach him. Suddenly a large bird with a 3-foot wing span bursts out of the tree canopy and flies overhead. With much squawking and branch shaking another follows and then another. We stare in awe at the great green macaw, one of only 270 left in Costa Rica—a magnificent rare bird that is in danger of extinction.

Citizen conservationists such as Alexander Martinez are playing an important role in the fight to save the great green macaw. A wiry 61-year-old in constant motion, Martinez works daily on saving not only the green macaw, but also other bird species as well. He operates a small bed and breakfast in the town of Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. He and his son, Kevin, guide bird hikes and take people into the hills to visit the wildlife reserve and rescue center Martinez and a friend run. In addition, Martinez volunteers with a group of local park guards who monitor and protect green macaw nests.

In his youth, Martinez was an avid hunter, but after living in Canada for a decade he returned to a very different Costa Rica. The country had gone through a logging boom in the 60s and 70s, and the introduction of chain saws and heavy equipment greatly accelerated the process. “I was shocked that everything I left behind that was so beautiful and so green was gone,” he explains. It was then he put down his gun and picked up a pair of binoculars.

The great green macaw (Ara ambiguus) lives in wet lowlands in small pockets of forests from Honduras to Ecuador. Deforestation has shrunk their habitat and concentrated their population into 5 areas: the border of Honduras and Nicaragua, the border of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the Darien region of Panama and Colombia and two small populations in Ecuador. Scientists estimate that there are only 7,000 of these birds living in the wild.

One of the first people to sound the alarm about the status of the bird was World Wildlife Fund scientist George Powell. Little was known about the bird and its behavior in 1994, so Powell, who was working at the RARE Center for Tropical Conservation, started the Great Green Macaw Research and Conservation Project. He determined that Costa Rica had already lost 90% of the great green’s nesting territory and that there were only 210 birds left in the country. Even more alarming was his calculation that the species needed at least 50 breeding pairs to survive. At that time, Costa Rica only had 25 to 35.

What makes the macaw so vulnerable is its preference for the Almendro (Dipteryx panamensis) tree for feeding and nesting. At nearly 164 feet tall the almendro is a giant in the forest. When the massive branches break off, they leave behind vast tree cavities ideally suited for macaw nests. Their height and depth keep chicks safe from predators. Smaller tree cavities and bromeliads serve as watering holes, while the nuts provide a nutritious food source.

Unfortunately the almendro tree has become a popular tropical hardwood for patios, decks and floors. During Costa Rica’s initial logging boom, the almendro was safe because its wood was too hard to cut into. Loggers would clear all the other trees in the forest and leave the almendro alone in a field of grass and tree stumps. Once steel blades that could penetrate the wood became available, even the great almendro tree fell victim to the everpresent chainsaws.

In 1998 Powell recruited two young conservationists Olivier Chassot and Guisselle Monge Arias to take over the conservation aspect of the macaw project. Their conservation strategy depended heavily on community involvement and educational programs.

Chassot and Arias traveled to small rural communities in macaw habitat to talk to people about the importance of the bird and the almendro tree. They enlisted the help of local schools and recruited citizen conservationists to be nest caretakers. “When you talk to people and take the time to visit their communities, they understand the idea [of conservation],” Chassot explains.

Realizing that the only way to save the bird was to save the forest it lives in, the conservation team identified the San Juan-La Selva Biological Corridor, a 246,000-hectare geographical area connecting the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve in southeastern Nicaragua with Costa Rica’s La Selva Biological Station in the north to the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Reserve and Tortuguero National Park on Costa Rica’s Caribbean Coast.  In addition they lobbied for the creation of the Maquenque National Wildlife Refuge to protect the breeding range of the macaw.

The macaw population began to stabilize in Costa Rica between 1998 -2003 and increased from 210 birds in 1994 to 275 birds in 2010.

Part of the conservation strategy in Costa Rica is to provide financial incentives for protecting the birds and their habitat. Chassot’s organization, the Tropical Science Center, has been able to provide small payments to nest caretakers.  An adopt-a-tree program pays farmers fair market value to protect their almendro trees. “Most of [the farmers] who are willing to set aside land for conservation can receive payments from the government to preserve their forest,” Chassot explains. He reports that the macaw population began to stabilize in Costa Rica between 1998 -2003 and increased from 210 birds in 1994 to 275 birds in 2010. “It shows that we have been able to reverse the trend and that the population is slowly increasing.”

NICARAGUA
IN THE SMALL community of Buena Vista, Nicaragua, brightly colored awnings provide protection from the sun. A wooden stage sets the scene for music and dancing, and a poster board display of photographs showcases tropical birds. Buena Vista was the site of the 8th annual Festival Binacional de las Lapas. Since 2002 Nicaragua has joined with Costa Rica to sponsor a yearly festival in honor of the great green macaw.  Alternatively held in Costa Rica or Nicaragua, the festival includes an equal number of Costa Rican and Nicaraguan farmers, schoolchildren, nest caretakers and government officials.

Costa Rica and Nicaragua have forged an unprecedented partnership in the name of the lapa verde. “The great green macaw has no country and needs no passport to cross the border,” explains Chassot.  “[We] make sure that conservation actions on one side of the border have no negative impact on the other.”

The Nicaraguan Conservation organization, Fundación del Río has concentrated their work in the buffer zone of Nicaragua’s Indio-Maíz biological Reserve. A dense jungle with limited access, Indio-Maíz is considered one of Nicaragua’s best preserved tracts of land and one of the most important expanses of pristine rainforest in Central America. Located in the southeast corner of the country on the border of the San Juan River, this buffer zone has recently been under assault from loggers in search of lumber and clear cutters intent on planting African palm trees for bio fuel.

Fundación del Río has been monitoring macaw activities since 2002 and has documented 35 active nests. With the help of Nicaraguan citizen conservationists and local farmers, they have recorded more than 1,500 observations of macaws for their database.

Macaws are delightful birds that captivate people with their beauty, intelligence and playful nature. In Nicaragua, as in all the other countries in the macaw’s range, macaws are victims of the pet trade. Macaws are listed in the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) as Appendix 1 which is the highest classification of protection for the most endangered species on the list. Even so, poachers capture the macaw nestlings to keep as pets, to sell to others or for export to other countries.

The removal of one or two nestlings has a great impact on the entire population because macaws are slow-breeding birds. They can take four or five years to mature, lay only two eggs at a time and nest every few years. Trading in macaw nestlings is a lucrative business with the birds selling between US $150 to $300.

To foster a love for the macaw as a special resident of Nicaragua and not as a commodity, Fundación targets the youngest members of the community. Through Radio Voz Juvenil,  Fundación Del Río broadcasts a Sunday morning program titled “Arita, the Great Green Macaw” that teaches young people and adults about the Great Green Macaw and the forest it lives in. The radio program is complemented by “Arita visita tu escuela,” a lively in-classroom educational program with games, songs, drawings and videos featuring the Great Green Macaw. Arita, a human-sized macaw mascot, has visited more than 11 schools in the municipality El Castillo so far.

ECUADOR
IN THE TROPICAL dry forests outside of Guayaquil, Ecuador, a small population of great green macaws struggles to survive in the shadow of 2.1 million people. Their sole sanctuary is the 6,000 hectare Cerro Blanco Protected Forest with 54 mammal species, 221 bird species and 100 of Ecuador’s most endangered endemic plant species. Logging, poaching and land grabbing have threatened to wipe out this population, but due to the efforts of the Pro-Forest Foundation—the NGO in charge of the reserve—the population is stable and even increasing.

The director of the Pro-Forest Foundation, Eric Horstman, has a 20-year history of conservation work in Ecuador. In 1993 after completing his 3-year assignment with the Peace Corps, he became director of the newly-formed Pro-Forest Foundation. He had heard that there were great green macaws in the reserve, but had only seen them stuffed into cages in local school zoos. “I finally saw a pair of them in the wild,” he recalls. “I was enthralled. It is a world of difference seeing a macaw in a cage as opposed to flying free in the wild.”

Horstman describes the great green macaw population in Ecuador as critically endangered and says the official estimate of 60-90 birds in Ecuador is optimistic. In addition to Cerro Blanco’s population of 11, there is another small group living in the humid tropical forests of the Esmereldas province in the North. The situation in Ecuador is so acute that scientists have recommended captive breeding of great green macaws.

Although La Fundación Ecológica Rescate Jambeli—a conservation organization that partners with the Pro-Forest Foundation—has successfully bred 17 chicks with their captive population of macaws, Horstman explains that they are holding off introducing captive birds into the wild until they establish a scientific protocol. One concern is that captive birds might introduce disease into a wild population, and of course there is the threat of injuries: macaws are fiercely territorial.

The great green macaw is officially protected in Guayaquil. But even though the city appointed the macaw their natural symbol with a strict set of regulations and ordnances concerning traffic of the species, clandestine sales of macaw fledglings continue. Fledglings are stolen from their nests in pigio trees, members of the bombacaceae family with smooth gray trunks.

The trees are hard to climb. Rather than risk [an] accident, people will just cut down the tree and hope that the chick will survive the fall. That’s just a double whammy,” Horstman explains.

Another threat to the macaw’s population is the rapid expansion of Guayaquil. Squatter settlements pop up on the city outskirts and push against the forest. Land grabbing is a problem and squatter communities have attempted to take over property within Cerro Blanco. “When we work with squatter settlements, we work with the leader,” Horstman explains.

First he obtains permission to enter the settlement, and then goes door to door with community leaders to ask people if they are interested in becoming honorary park guards. In one nearby settlement, the Pro-Forest Foundation has 11 people and one school on duty.

Horstman has found that the best deterrent to logging and poaching seems to be education, and the most compelling argument for saving the forest concerns water. There are at least 6 permanent sources of water in the reserve that the surrounding communities rely on. Horstman simply explains that without the forest, there will be no water.

“When we have engaged these people they, themselves, have recognized the ecological services of the reserve,” he says.

To strengthen the macaws’ chance for survival, the Pro-Forest Foundation has restored more than 200 acres of macaw habitat by planting native trees. “Trees that we planted in 1993 are now flowering and producing fruits. It’s not that long of a turnaround time,” Horstman explains. In that same time period the macaw population has grown by nearly 50% from a low of 6 to a high of 11. “The population seems to be slowly increasing,” Horstman says. “That is a hopeful sign.”

Efforts to protect the great green macaw have a ripple effect across its 6-country territory. To save the bird, the forest has to be saved first. In doing so, all the other smaller, less dramatic species retain their forest homes as well. In that respect the impact the bird has on its surroundings is truly great and truly green.

Published in Americas magazine, January-February 2011, by Chris Hardman

 

Energy from Water in Nicaragua

| ChrisHardmanWriter

CARLOS COLONEL owns an avocado farm on the slopes of an extinct volcano on Ometepe Island in Nicaragua. A while back, he realized that he could use the waterfall on his property to create clean energy, not only for himself, but for some of the poorest residents of the island who had never had power before. His quest to create a small hydroelectric power plant took nearly 5 years as he overcame geography and skeptical investors to bring light where there previously had been darkness. Now he employs local people to run the power plants that provide low-cost, environmentally-friendly electricity to 35% of the people on the island.

As one of Nicaragua’s most popular tourist destinations, the northwest side of Ometepe island was well equipped with power stations. But the rural side, where Kinloch has his avocado farm, was left in darkness. To make his dream of renewable energy a reality, Kinloch and his business partners had to raise more than one million dollars by convincing potential investors that they would see a return on their investment and that the rural villagers would pay their bills.

Kinloch hired community members to build the power plant and install the pipeline on the slope of the volcano. All of the power plant supplies had to be shipped to the island from the mainland. Once the pipeline was complete, an earthquake hit Ometepe destroying 30% of the pipeline. Undaunted, Kinloch and his team forged ahead to face the next challenge: raising money to purchase power lines. It took another 3 years for Kinloch to find an investor to supply 35 kilometers of power line to the rural communities of Ometepe.

Kinloch ignored the skeptics on the mainland who told him the local people would break the power plant equipment. “We took small farmers who didn’t have any idea about the computer and energy, and we taught them how to run the turbine,” Kinloch explains.  “I taught the guy who milks the cows to work the turbine, and he can do it.” Kinloch purposely hired only local people, who now have a reliable source of income in addition to access to clean energy.

Electricity came to the rural side of the island with much excitement. “We had to teach them about energy and how to use the energy,” Kinloch explains. “For the first month it was crazy. They had the light on every night and radio on all the time.” Kinloch relied on community leaders and teachers to teach the community how to use energy wisely and safely.

“The mind grows when you have light,” says Kinloch. Electricity changes lives. Land value increased and some residents have sold land to build better houses and start businesses. Farmers, who use the hydro powered irrigation system, can increase their yield by extending their growing season well past the rainy season. Kinloch’s goal is build enough power plants to supply 100% of the power on the island. His dream is for all of Ometepe to enjoy the benefits of renewable energy.

Published in Americas magazine by Chris Hardman

 

Python Pete—The Snake-Sniffing Puppy

| ChrisHardmanWriter

BIOLOGISTS IN the Florida Everglades are using man’s best friend in their battle against invasive species.  National Park Service Wildlife technician Lori Oberhofer is training a beagle puppy—nicknamed python Pete—to sniff out pet Burmese pythons that have been released into the wild.

Burmese pythons are a popular item in Florida’s booming exotic pet trade, and according to National Geographic, more than 144,000 of them have been imported to the U.S. from Asia since 2000.

Although they are legal to own, the problem comes when they grow up. As one of the world’s largest snakes, they can reach up to 15 feet long, causing many horrified owners to dump them into the nearest swamp.

As the snake’s popularity has increased, so has the population that is invading the Everglades. In a 10-year period, park officials removed 52 Burmese pythons from the Everglades, but then in 2004 alone they removed 61 pythons from the park.

Biologists believe that the pythons are breeding in the Everglades, and like most invasive species, their success is bad news for the park’s native species. The pythons appear to be eating native wood storks and mangrove fox squirrels and taking away habitat and food from the Everglade’s threatened eastern indigo snake. Tourists have even watched the giant snakes fight with park alligators.

Oberhofer is training her own puppy to search for the snakes and bark upon discovery. She is relying on the dog’s acute sense of smell to pinpoint the snake’s location. Then, park officials can capture the snake and remove it before it does more harm to the environment.

Working under the assumption that the Burmese python has a unique odor that is species specific, Oberhofer has spent several months teaching Pete what Burmese pythons smell like using a captive python in a mesh bag.

To protect Pete while he is working, Oberhofer will keep him on a leash and out of the water. That way he won’t risk becoming a statistic himself.

Published in Wildlife Conservation magazine by Chris Hardman

 

Cutting a Course of Pollution

| ChrisHardmanWriter

CRUISE SHIPS introduce millions of people to exotic places throughout the Americas. As the industry grows, so does the size of the ships. Some carry as many as 5,000 passengers and crew. According to a study conducted by analyst G.P. Wild, the number of people taking cruises will reach 20.7 million by 2010. The Caribbean is the principal destination accounting for almost half of all cruise traffic.

The problem — according to Oceana, a non-profit organization based in Washington D.C. — is that cruise ships are legally able to dump raw sewage into the ocean. To address this issue, Oceana has launched the Stop Cruise Ship Pollution campaign with two goals in mind: create federal legislation in the U.S. to control cruise ship water pollution and convince cruise ship companies to install modern sewage treatment equipment. “These boats go to some of the most beautiful places on the planet, places that are already struggling with all kinds of pollution from development,” says Oceana Pollution Program Director and Senior Scientist Jackie Savitz. “These boats are capitalizing on the glory of the marine environment and in the meantime they are dumping all kinds of waste.”

Each day an average-sized cruise ship hosting 3,000 passengers and crew generates 30,000 gallons of sewage. An additional 255,000 gallons of waste water comes from sinks, dishwashers, and laundry — much of which contains toxic chemicals from industrial cleaning products, dry cleaning, and photo processing. Under current environmental laws, all of this waste can be dumped untreated into the ocean once the ship is more than three miles away from shore. “Harmful nutrients in sewage like nitrogen and phosphorous are well known pollutants that cause low oxygen problems like the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico,” explains Savitz. She says that raw sewage contaminates marine ecosystems and contains viruses that can make humans and marine life sick.

The cruise ships have responded to public pressure by voluntarily adopting memorandums of understanding and waste management policies that agree to fully comply with laws and regulations, welcome new technology, and minimize waste. “We make our living off of pristine environments and we have no reason not to be invested in the future of the environment,” explains International Council of Cruise Lines President Michael Crye. He says that the industry has invested millions of dollars in advanced waste water treatment on board cruise ships and that some of the new systems — like those in use in Alaska —  discharge water that is drinking-water quality. “Our mandatory waste management practices and procedures basically mandate that none of our members discharge anything within four miles of the shore unless they have these advanced wastewater treatment systems installed,” he explains.

Oceana wants all cruise ships to install the most current waste treatment technology and estimates that cruise ships could install new technology within five years at a cost of only $1.50 dollars per day per passenger. In order to find out if cruise customers would support  the cost of new technology, Oceana hired Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, Inc. to conduct a survey of cruise ship patrons. The poll revealed that six out of ten cruisers are willing to pay extra to make sure that cruise ships never dump sewage into the ocean. More than 90 percent of this group said that they would pay more than $25. “What we want them to do is get into the 21st century and upgrade to state-of-the-art sewage treatment and then we’ll be off their back,” Savitz says. “If they treat the stuff and stop dumping raw sewage, we think the customers will be a lot happier and the oceans will be a lot better off.”

Published in Americas magazine by Chris Hardman

 

Whales in Trouble

| ChrisHardmanWriter

BUSTLING SHIPPING LANES, deep water oil exploration, pile driving and military sonar exercises have made the ocean a pretty noisy place. According to scientists at the Bahamas Marine Mammal Research Organisation (BMMRO) excess noise in the ocean stresses marine mammals, interferes with their communication and navigation systems and can sometimes lead to death. “Most marine mammals communicate with acoustics, so they are using noise. It’s a simple equation. If the ocean is too loud for them, that creates a number of issues,” says BMMRO researcher Charlotte Dunn.

Scientists at the BMMRO are working with the United States Navy to understand what impact navy sonar has on marine mammals—especially beaked whales. The deep water near the Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas, where the BMMRO is located, is ideal habitat for beaked whales. This area also houses the United States Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) on Andros Island.

The two worlds collided on March 15, 2000 when at least 14 beaked and 2 minke whales ended up stranded in the shallow waters in the Northeast and Northwest Providence Channels of the Bahamas.  Researchers found one beaked whale in front of the BMMRO research facility and were able to guide it back to deeper waters. Soon after, they heard of another stranded whale a mile away, and while they struggled to keep the second whale wet, they received notice of a third whale stranding. By the end of the day researchers became suspicious that this was not a normal mass stranding, and that the whales were desperately trying to get away from something.

“The alarms go off when you have a number of [species] stranding together. That suggests that it’s not due to disease. It’s something that changed in their environment,” says BMMRO researcher Diane Claridge, who helped rescue the stranded whales.

Later scientists found out that the United States Navy had been operating submarines and ships that day with sonar activity. The military uses powerful mid-frequency sonar to explore the ocean and its inhabitants. By sending out sound waves and deciphering how they bounce off objects, the military can search the ocean for suspicious activity.

Although researchers are unsure of why beaked whales are so sensitive to noise, they speculate that the noise causes behavioral changes. A sudden loud sound may frighten the whales and in their panic make them ascend or descend too quickly.  A whale’s middle ear is full of air and, just like humans, they have to equalize in pressure during ascent or descent in the water. A rapid change can be extremely painful and damaging.

By studying beaked whales, Claridge and Dunn can provide the Navy with population and migration information. That way the Navy can plan their activities with the least amount of impact on the whales. Mass strandings have occurred in conjunction with military activity around the world in Greece, the United States and the Canary Islands. According to Claridge and Dunn, noise in the ocean is the number one concern for the health of all marine mammal species.

Published in Americas magazine by Chris Hardman

 

Purses from Plastic

| ChrisHardmanWriter

THE UBIQUITOUS PLASTIC grocery bag—used for lunches, garbage cans, and groceries—is one of the most prolific sources of pollution in modern-day society. Scientists estimate that worldwide people use 500 trillion plastic bags each year. In the Americas alone, the United States reports using 380 billion plastic bags a year. Cheap to buy and easy to store, the plastic bag has become the favorite of grocery stores who no longer ask, “Paper or plastic?”

Lack of recycling programs and improper disposal of the bags create a waste nightmare and environmental hazards that are too complex to track. Non biodegradable plastic bags travel on the wind polluting our oceans and forests or take up permanent residence in our already overcrowded landfills.

Since 2006 an innovative program that started in Costa Rica is using those bags in a most environmentally friendly way. Women living in small villages on the Caribbean Coast convert the plastic bags into thread and weave attractive and colorful purses with them.

Weaving for Nature is run by WIDECAST, a conservation organization that protects sea turtles in the Caribbean and its surroundings. The program solves several problems at once. The bags are re-used, eliminating the need for disposal, and the business gives people an environmentally friendly income source.

The program is organized to promote fair trade standards with an environmental mission. The weaver receives 75% of the profit and the rest goes toward sea turtle conservation efforts. The weavers, mostly housewives in small villages, work under fair and relaxed conditions and are compensated for all stages of production from collecting and washing the bags through the finished product.

According to Didiher Chacon-Chaverri, WIDECAST Country Coordinator in Costa Rica, weavers produce about 3 purses a week that means they can earn $180 a month to supplement their family’s main income.

To date the project has employed more than 50 women in villages on the coast of Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. In 2008 the sale of bags, coin purses, plastic figures and Christmas Tree ornaments generated $75,000 in income for the four coastal communities.

The environmental benefits of this program are far-reaching. Along the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica and other countries, the plastic bag is a deadly enemy of marine habitats.

Because many of these bags are thrown on the ground or tossed into rivers, they often end up in the sea where they suffocate coral and kill sea turtles. For the hapless sea turtle gliding through the ocean, a plastic bag looks just like its favorite food, the jellyfish. The turtle gobbles up the bag and either chokes on the plastic or feels full and stops looking for real food.

Unfortunately plastic waste of any kind affects the entire marine environment. Because plastic bags are made of polyethylene, they are not biodegradable, and even if the bags are broken into smaller pieces, their tiny particles invade all levels of the food chain causing disease and sometimes death for marine life.

The Dolphin Research Center in Florida estimates that 100,000 marine mammals die each year from eating plastic bags.

WIDECAST estimates that each purse made is removing approximately 70 plastic bags from the environment for a total of 12,000 plastic bags a month. The bags are sold throughout Costa Rica in tourist areas and gift shops and online through http://www.inbio.ac.cr.

They range in color and size and come in various styles including beach bags, calabash bags, messenger bags, water bottle cases, and coin purses. For more information about the project, visit latinamericanseaturtles.org.

Published in Americas magazine, September-October 2009, by Chris Hardman

 

Native Lands for Wolf and Man

| ChrisHardmanWriter

AS THE SPIRIT of the wolf returns to Idaho’s national forest, so does the spirit of the Native American tribe in charge of reintroducing them.

For the first time, the U.S. government has contracted an Indian nation—the Nez Percé tribe of Northern Idaho—to manage the recovery of an endangered species—the gray wolf.  The success of this project is being hailed as a cultural victory for a people with a strong spiritual connection to an elusive and beautiful animal.

The history of the Nez Percé is sadly similar to the history of the gray wolf—both were forced out of their territory to make room for white settlers.  In 1855, the Nez Percé signed a treaty with the U.S. government allowing the tribe to keep most of their traditional lands in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

The discovery of gold in 1860, made this land extremely valuable, so the U.S. government decided to take over most of the tribe’s land  by creating a second treaty in 1863. But the Nez Percé claimed that the tribe never agreed to the second treaty.

Hostilities escalated and a series of battles and forced marches ensued. After the Nez Percé surrendered in 1877, the remaining members of the tribe were shuffled around the country until they finally were placed on a reservation in Lapwai, Idaho.

At the same time the Nez Percé lived in the Northwest so did thousands of wolves, but as white settlers spread throughout  Idaho’s forests and rivers, the wolves soon learned that unlike the Nez Percé, the new people did not welcome their presence. Instead of respect and kinship, the white man possessed a deep fear of his canine neighbors.

In the 1860s, hunters slaughtered thousands of wolves by scattering poisoned bison carcasses around wolf feeding grounds. When the demand for wolf fur increased, hunters killed a many as 1,000 wolves a winter.

In Montana alone more than 80,000 wolves were killed in a 40-year period. The U.S. government joined the slaughter in the 1900s by hiring hunters and trappers to kill wolves thought dangerous to livestock. Thirty years later, the gray wolf had been eliminated from most of the U.S.

“Our history has mirrored one another’s,” says Jamie Pinkham, Nez Percé  Tribal Council member. “The settlers had two obstacles: that of the Indian people and that of the predators such as the wolves, who were both in conflict as to access to the land.  [As a result] both the Nez Percé  and the gray wolf were dispossessed. Today we see that mirror continue but in a more optimistic journey.”

The same government that persecuted both the wolves and the Nez Percé in the past is supporting a conservation program that is providing rebirth for both groups today.

Between 1995 and 1996, as part of a three-state reintroduction plan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a total of 35 gray wolves on one million acres of federally protected land in Idaho’s Frank Church-river of No Return Wilderness. At the same time the FWS hired the Nez Percé tribe to manage, monitor and research the wolves.

Not all residents of Idaho welcome the wolves’ return. Ranchers fear that reintroduction of this crafty predator is a danger to their livestock.

Led by the American Farm Bureau Federation, a group of protesters sued to prevent the return of the wolves to Idaho before they were released. The case languished in court and the wolves were released anyway.

To compensate livestock owners for their financial losses, a program supported by the conservation organization Defenders of Wildlife pays ranchers market price for any cattle wolves kill. To ease the continued tension between ranchers and conservationists, the Nez Percé  work hard to establish good relationships between biologists and ranchers.

In 1996 the Nez Percé invited the Wolf Education and Research Center, to relocate on tribal lands in Winchester, Idaho. “It became a natural marriage,” Pinkham says. “On one hand, we’re handling the wild reintroduction and on the other hand, we have these 11 ambassador wolves who help create a positive message for the recovery of their wild cousins.”

The center’s captive-born pack of 11 wolves living in a 20-acre enclosure gives the public an opportunity to view a secretive animal in a natural setting. The center’s primary goal is to develop management plans that will allow wolves and humans to coexist in the same environment. With more knowledge, better and more informed decisions about wolf conservation can be made.

Wolves figure prominently in the Nez Percé religion. They are admired because of their hunting skills, their language and their tradition of sharing food. Having the wolves return to Idaho is viewed by the Nez Percé as the return of a brother, a vital link to their culture and traditions of the past.

“We are both regaining a rightful place on the land we were once removed from,” Pinkham says.

Published in Americas magazine, April 2000, by Chris Hardman

Radio-Tagged Tarantulas

| ChrisHardmanWriter

THE THOUGHT of studying tarantulas up close causes most people to shudder as images of gigantic, hairy monsters flood their imagination.  But a more accurate picture, according to Steven B. Reichling of the Memphis Zoo, is that of a fascinating animal providing an invaluable service to conservation research. Reichling and veterinarian Chris Tabaka have radio tagged 75 individuals of two common tarantula species to document the rate and result of deforestation at the Lamanai Archaeological Reserve in northern Belize.

Tarantulas make effective bio-indicators because they can live to be 20 years old, they are identifiable, and they stay in one area. By monitoring tarantula survivor rates, Reichling will be able to document the impact of agricultural trends in Belize.

Historically, farmers planted crops on small plots of land for a few years and then cleared a new area. This “slash-and-burn” farming allowed the land to rest and recover. But modern farming techniques create large clearings that are left fallow briefly or not at all. Large-scale farms cultivate the land continually, and once all the nutrients in the soil are used up, the farm becomes cattle pasture. The behavior of Reichling’s two study subjects, the Lamanai tarantula—a resident of open fields—and the redrump tarantula—a dense forest dweller—will provide insight into how other species of flora and fauna are affected as well.

The first challenge the researchers faced was how to identify an animal that sheds its exoskeleton on a regular basis. They decided to use some kind of internal tag. Because tarantulas have an open circulatory system and no clotting ability, Reichling says, “It’s a lot like trying to insert a grain of rice inside a water balloon.” Tabaka and Reichling developed a technique to surgically implant miniature radio transponders into the spider’s abdomen without harming the animal. These long-lived archachnids will generate valuable scientific data for years to come.

Published in Wildlife Conservation by Chris Hardman