FALL/WINTER 2020–2021

PASO PACÍFICO MAKING CONNECTIONS FOR CONSERVATION EL HONDURAS SALVADOR

GULF OF FONSECA

NICARAGUA

PACIFIC OCEAN

W h e r e W e W o r k

Dear Friends,

Volcán Cosigüina, We send you our gratitude and warmest greetings. COVID-19 has impacted nearly every corner of our world, but the work you main- Macaw Epicenter tain has continued. 2020 was our fifteenth year! In addition to providing for our usual efforts, your remarkable outpouring of support has alleviated suffering through emergency food relief for communities. Your giving during this challenging time inspires me. I am also inspired by our staff’s increased commitment to their own health, the health of their communities, and our mission that is so vital to this planet. For example, our intrepid education team (led by women rangers) have organized remote Junior Ranger lessons through family cell phones, helping children remain safely engaged in learning about the natural world. Our forest ranger team moved and planted 15,000 Volcán Cosigüina is a pristine strato­ native trees with local landowners, all while setting an example S t u d y i n g R a p t o r s t o C eme n t a L e g a c y volcano near the Gulf of Fonseca, and its wearing protective masks in the tropical humidity and heat. forests have a special claim to fame. They contain the last flock of wild cyanoptera Challenges are plentiful during the pandemic. In Central America, scarlet macaws (Ara macao cyanoptera) in El Salvador underwent military-enforced lockdowns, canceling western Central America. Tragically, this our parrot projects midseason. Nicaraguans have suffered gravely subspecies is nearly extinct in the wild. under the pandemic, and we lost our regular birding consultant and dear friend Luis Díaz to the virus. Our team is remaining cautious Since 2016, our staff have fought poach­ while launching raptor monitoring efforts in Luis’ memory. Like ing pressure, forest fires, and natural you, we are pushing through. predators to protect these macaws. Loro Parque Fundación, the American Your gifts have made great things possible. I hope this newsletter Nicaraguan Foundation, the Brandywine boosts your spirits, giving you faith in a better tomorrow. We will Zoo, and Projets Plus Actions helped get through this together. make this possible. Their support has With gratitude, saved three nestlings — a 20% increase in population. This season, $50,000 is need­ ed to save new macaws and stabilize the project long term. To join in this effort, we invite you to donate to our macaw campaign. Please make your gift today at Dr. Sarah Otterstrom pasopacifico.org/savemacaws. Founder & Executive Director Front cover: Two cyanoptera macaws in flight. Photo by Oswaldo Saballos. H e l p i n g R u r a l C o mm u n i t i e s a m i d c o V i d - 1 9

Your generous donations to our COVID -19 aid fund turned into months of relief supplies for 270 vul- nerable families in Nicaragua. Your gifts were augmented by the PRBB Foundation, which provided fresh oysters from local women’s oyster cooperatives we support, and the American Nicaraguan Foundation. Your gifts and the support of new donors Dick and Laura Thielscher R emem b e r i n g have also enabled us to pass aid to hundreds of other families in vul­ a B r i l l i a n t B i r d e r nerable communities in El Salvador and Guatemala. In addition, you Luis Fernando Díaz Chávez (September helped us deliver 200 3D-printed 12, 1988 – June 3, 2020) was a brilliant face shields to rural Nicaraguan young ornithologist taken from us by clinics and hospitals. The PPE was COVID -19. He was an important sea­ produced by STEMbassadors, a sonal team member for over a decade. Ventura, California high school As a consulting member of our bird group, and sent through an anony­ monitoring teams, he spent weeks at mous local donor. Thank you for a time in the field during the peak of stepping up and saving lives! the spring and fall migrations. He also regularly participated in our Christmas Bird Counts, bird-banding stations, and other special projects. S t u d y i n g R a p t o r s t o C eme n t a L e g a c y Paso Pacífico staff admired Luis as one of the best birders in the country. They Each fall, millions of raptors — hawks, eagles, condors, falcons, etc. — migrate were always impressed by his passion. south. They face numerous threats and many parts of their routes are unknown Even after long days in the field, this to science. Last year, Luis Díaz and the rest of our team found a major migratory brilliant young ornithologist would re­ pathway and documented an estimated 1.29 million raptors in just 3 weeks. The tire to his hammock to review bird calls average number of raptors counted per hour was 6,117! and select his favorite birding photos. Coming from humble circumstances, This study laid the foundation for future Nicaraguan raptor monitoring research. he scrimped to buy birding guides and We are honoring Luis’ memory by monitoring again this year, and our team dreams equipment, taking special care of them, of naming a permanent monitoring station after him. We are also helping finish and diligently supported his mother. Luis’n work-i -progress, the first-ever birding guide to Nicaraguan raptors. You can Luis was also very kindhear ted and gen­ participate in these meaningful efforts by giving at pasopacifico.org/raptors2020. tle. His teammates say he was always willing to share his time with students interested in birds. Over the years, he helped train over 500 children in bird­ watching. We will never forget him. Many of you sent gifts to support his widowed mother. She has used the funds to start a business that she hopes will sustain her far into the future. We send you our sincerest gratitude.

Raptors and panorama ©Vincent Romera These donors supported our work for the first T HANK Y OU, N EW D ONORS! time from September 2019–September 2020.

Sophie Alfonzo Rob Dull Frederick Janka Lenore Quinonez-Venokur Kristen Allison Nicole Dvorak Kaye Jurjavcic Laurie Recinos Laurie Ashton & Lynn Sarko Megan Elliott Nancy Kaawe Lizbeth Reyes Patricia Audenino Joy Evanns Koichi Kano Peter Ronald Clay Baumung Scott Feld Rita Kirabo Katrina Sanders Gabrielle Bekink Tom Finan Phylis Kramer Melissa Sapp Megan Bense Lynn Fischer Maria Lash Trixie Sarens Stuart Bloom Jill Frankel Carol Leandro Tyler Schmidt Elizabeth Borowiec Faith Friedlander Inti Luna Bruce Schoppe Madelyn Brewer Alison Fuller Sara MacCracken Pamela Sears Hal Brindley & Michelle Gadd Bob MacWilliams Tenzing Sherpa Cristina Garcia Carlos Garcia Suchanda Mookherjee Neil Slettehaugh Laura Brosie Sooni Gillett Deborah Martin Charlette Smith Donna Brown Liz Glamazon Lynn McGuire Bruce Spring Susan Brown Liza González Jacqueline Millen Shawn Steen Brita & Stephen Bruemmer Andrew Greenberger Christine Miller Andrea Sullivan Inés Cabello Rosales Danielle Gustafson Stacey Nagra Dick & Laura Thielscher Cathy Castillo-Espinosa Evis Haake Maurizio Navarra Sara Thompson Delphine Cathcart Justine Hanson Tyler Nelson Priscilla Torres Rossel J. Kim Chaix Harlan Harrison Patricia Neville Isabella Valentina Kelley Chew Donna Hemmert Russ Norvell Sandra Vasquez Nicole Chung Tess Herman Martin Perlmutter Jeremy Wayne Aaron Connolly Silvia & Ted Hillyer Rain Perry Holly White Kristen Conway Loren Hintz Laura Phillips Jamie White Virginia Dallas-Dull Jimmy Hodgson Cristiana Pizzuti Tom White Tom & Alexis Davis Christina Hoernicke Jeffrey Poe Kevyn Wightman Jill Deeter Kelly Hogan John Preissing Breelyn Young Raj Doddakashi Richard Hough Mark Prescott David Younkman Ellene Donaldson Franklin Ibemessie Barbara Price Oscar Zavala Jason Donaldson Carl James Marcelo Quinonez Verena Zydek

D ONOR F RANCIE R UTHERFORD & J IM G OETZ S POTLIGHT Francie Rutherford and Jim Goetz Jim is a retired civil engineer who believe in supporting their commu­ specialized in designing waste­water nity and protecting the environment. management systems. He enjoys They put these values in action boating and woodworking, but is through extensive volunteering, most passionate about supporting a staying close with family, and giv­ new generation of global citizens. A ing generously to Paso Pacífico and retired psychoanalyst, Francie spent other nonprofits. Together, they her career helping people overcome enjoy supporting our Junior Rangers personal challenges and now works and women’s oyster cooperatives. tirelessly as an activist. Her wide-rang­ Their gifts have changed many lives, ing interests include environmental and on a donor trip they enjoyed spirituality, women’s empowerment, meeting the hardworking women and environmental justice in urban and youth who are striving to nur­ areas. We are deeply grateful to Jim ture their natural resources. and Francie for their support. Our Nicaragua staff gathers for the first time in two years.

F ROM THE F IELD February 2020 was a joyful month settle, go to school and find jobs in for me. It began with travel in El a new country while going through Salvador, working on exciting bird the asylum process. Our hearts are projects there, and ended with my filled with gratitude to the generous first visit to Nicaragua in two years. donors who flew them to safety and This trip was much anticipated. helped them begin their new lives. Since 1999, I have been either living Liza continued managing our proj­ in Nicaragua or traveling there sev­ ects remotely for a time. While she eral times a year in connection with remains in close contact, she stepped developing and leading Paso Pacífico. Dr. Sarah Otterstrom down as Central American Director The separation was hard on all of us. Founder & Executive Director at the close of 2019. It is the end While completing a doctorate The 2018 Upheaval of an era; Liza has been with Paso Pacífico since our founding. Liza, we degree in fire ecology in Central Why didn’t I visit Nicaragua for two love you and we thank you for your America, Sarah met the commu­ years? In April 2018, civil unrest service and sacrifices. nities of the Paso del Istmo and exploded in the country. The Paso del dedicated her life to working along­ Istmo was relatively calm. Our inland In the meantime, our programs have side them to restore their natural ecosystems. She has led our work staff minimized travel. However, that been able to continue. While we feel for almost fifteen years. July our longtime country director, Liza that our staff there are safe, we are González, and family began receiving taking extra precautions. As a part Here in February 2020, she holds serious death threats. We have not of these, I did not travel to the coun­ her newest birthday twin: Gema, the shared this story publicly until now. try for two years. daughter of ranger Yorlin Vargas and his wife Isaura. Liza and her in-country children and Back to the Field at Last grandchildren hid at home. They This February, Nicaragua finally bolted the doors, shuttered and seemed safe enough for me to visit. locked the windows, and barely I returned with my 11-year-old son. It spoke above whispers while we was an incredibly moving experience. scrambled to get them out. After When I reunited with our staff, they two weeks, they courageously left expressed many words of gratitude to everything behind and navigated the you donors for keeping them going. roiling capital city. Dressed as tourists Rangers Marcos Pizarro and Hector and carrying a single suitcase each, Espinoza, who lost their homes in the they boarded a plane and successfully 2017 hurricane, bore their hearts to entered the United States. We wept. me to thank those of you who helped Her grandchildren were overjoyed rebuild their homes. Thank you, thank to safely play outside again. Since you, thank you, for all of your support. 2018, Liza’s family has been able to My son and I accompanied the parrot rangers as they checked on This juvenile macaw is one of the three cyanoptera chicks your the health of endangered young yellow-naped Amazon parrots. donations have helped save. With your support, this nearly- The team had another record-breaking year of successful nests. extinct species can continue.

At last, I stepped onto the sea turtle beaches and been able to return three chicks to the wild in four met with the turtle rangers again. It was thrilling to be years of macaw conservation work. However, we have together, and we mostly laughed and talked about the learned from each and every failure. beauty and the impact of their work. I also joined our When a nest was destroyed by African bees, we pur­ parrot team as they scaled massive trees and checked chased a beekeeping suit. Now, our parrot ranger on the health of growing parrotlets. Seeing the baby team visits every potential nest and removes the parrots filled my son with wonder. fatally aggressive bees. The highest point of the whole trip was a staff Wildfires destroyed at least two active macaw nests, luncheon we held in Managua. We gathered our biol­ so we provided food donations and transportation ogists, administrative staff, rangers, and technicians to the local volunteer fire brigade. This helped them from many locations for a joyful reunion and a deli­ stay engaged in firefighting throughout the dry season. cious meal funded by a kind donor. During that time, We also worked with the municipal government to I was able to remind everyone of Paso Pacífico’s awe- transport and plant 7,000 native trees in burned areas, inspiring purpose, our strength from that purpose, restoring habitat. and the trust and belief that each of you donors has in them and their work. We have also been proactive against poaching. Our educational workshops share the macaws’ importance Along with this message to our team, I was able to with all ages. We hire and train local rangers. We offer also meet new team members, including community incentives to community members who keep the nests rangers from the remote Cosigüina peninsula. Theirs safe. Our camera traps help monitor active nests. This is a special purpose. In their area flies the last popula­ year, as the macaw chicks were growing, we even sent tion of cyanoptera macaws on the Pacific Slope. The additional rangers from southern Nicaragua to join the community rangers live in a zone of extreme poverty. Cosigüina rangers and provide 24-hour protection to A single macaw chick could fetch as much money as the nest. most people earn in a year, and some of the rangers had never even traveled to the capital city of Managua. Yet heartbreak still occurred this year, right under our Coming to this lunch helped them see that they are camera trap: A barred forest falcon fought off the par­ valued and that they are part of a caring team work­ ent macaws and consumed an advanced nest of three ing for a greater cause. older chicks. Nature is infuriating sometimes. The Trials of Protecting Macaws These challenges are considerable, but we believe these beautiful birds are worth saving for future gener­ Layers of challenge require a sophisticated, multilay­ ations. We will continue to fight, and I invite you to join ered response. As I reflect on my new friendship with us for the 2021 season. All macaw donors will receive these community rangers, I think about how their exclusive special reports on the season’s progress — project illustrates this. It’s sad to say, but we have only just start donating at pasopacifico.org/savemacaws. While in Nicaragua, I met our Cosigüina macaw rangers for I am in awe whenever I see rangers climb so high to check nests the first time. Their work is essential to protecting the critically and protect endangered birds. Thank you to all of you who give endangered cyanoptera macaw. to power their critical work — you make it happen!

In Conclusion have begun programs in El Salvador, a country where international conservation organizations have been COVID -19 was accelerating worldwide as my trip nearly absent for over a decade. Your donations have concluded. I savored each last moment, knowing this made a difference for nature and communities in these then -epidemic would change all our lives and keep me incredible regions and will continue to do so. out of Nicaragua for another unknown length of time. The visit renewed me and energized our team for the Our renewed morale was matched by the sup­ coming challenges. It reminded me of our mission’s value port that friends and donors like you gave this year. and our incredible team’s relience and strength. Our COVID -19 is creating tremendous hardship every­ team wholly committed to the cause, despite difficult where due to loss of life and livelihoods, but your gifts times and physical separation from top leadership. They have buoyed our team as we have confronted this have grown stronger and have taken unprecedented next big challenge. You give us the hope and strength initiative. We are well placed to continue conservation to know that together, we will get through this global in Nicaragua, even after most other conservation org­ pandemic. The vital work of community-focused con­ anizations have halted their work. At the same time, we servation continues on. Thank you.

D ONOR F RANCIE R UTHERFORD & J IM G OETZ D ID Y OU K NOW? S POTLIGHT Francie Rutherford and Jim Goetz Jim is a retired civil engineer who • Cyanoptera macaws (Ara macaobelieve cyanoptera in supporting) are their commu­ specialized in designing waste­water distinctive due to their large size andnity lack and of protecting a green the environment. management systems. He enjoys band between their yellow and blue Theyfeathers. put these values in action boating and woodworking, but is through extensive volunteering, most passionate about supporting a • Cosigüina’s flock is the last in Nicaraguastaying closeand all with of family, and giv­ new generation of global citizens. A western Central America. The macaws’ing generouslydecline is due to Paso Pacífico and retired psychoanalyst, Francie spent to incredibly high poaching for the petother trade nonprofits. in add­ Together, they her career helping people overcome ition to deforestation and natural predation.enjoy supporting our Junior Rangers personal challenges and now works and women’s oyster cooperatives. tirelessly as an activist. Her wide-rang­ • Their eyes are dark when young and lighten to a Their gifts have changed many lives, ing interests include environmental pale yellow when they reach adulthood.and on a donor trip they enjoyed spirituality, women’s empowerment, • Their regional name is the “lapa roja.”meeting They the were hardworking women and environmental justice in urban once so common that locals viewed andthem youth as pests. who are striving to nur­ areas. We are deeply grateful to Jim ture their natural resources. and Francie for their support. A B

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R ECENT H IGHLIGHTS

• Thanks to Patagonia’s environmental internship pro­ • In 2019, El Salvador participated in the International gram, Patagonia employees Pasha Whitmire and Natasha Coastal Cleanup under our leadership for the first time, Woodward visited El Salvador on our behalf in late 2019. with 64 volunteers removing 3400 pounds of trash from They spent their days hiking, interviewing landowners, the beaches. Nicaragua’s 2019 cleanups extended for sev­ and meeting with partners from the government, NGO, eral months and included an underwater cleanup, where and tourism sectors. We deeply appreciated their con­ fishermen helped recover 48 large net fragments from the tributions. D F ocean floor. A total of 1335 people participated and col­ lected 12,300 pounds of garbage. Two graduated Junior • Together with our in-country partner FUNZEL, we Rangers interned with our team to assist with this effort. marshaled a national alliance to protect the yellow-naped The 2020 cleanup saw high participation across Nicaragua Amazon parrot in El Salvador. Several major media out­ and the results are forthcoming. A lets covered the one-day alliance workshop led by Paso Pacífico biologists and attended by executive director • The 2020 nesting season was another record year for Sarah Otterstrom. This important conservation story Nicaragua’s yellow-naped Amazon parrots! 39 endangered reached millions of Salvadorans in 2019. parrot chicks hatched and are now flying free. • Our bird monitoring team captured an endangered • In the spring, our longtime turtle ranger Felix Reyes southwest willow flycatcher that was banded in San Diego trained with the Guanacaste Conservation Area firefight­ County, California. This finding reinforces knowledge of the ers to bring their firefighting techniques to our next season migratory connections between southern California and fighting wildfires in the dry tropical forest. C Nicaragua and underlines the wide-ranging impact of con­ • The Junior Rangers received hygiene lessons in early serving habitat in Nicaragua. March before we went virtual. The Junior Rangers enjoyed • Our biologist attended Central America’s first cetacean local art contests we hosted, sending in masterpieces like E . congress in March 2020 and presented just before the Many kids were newly able to participate remotely because conference went virtual due to coronavirus concerns. The of a recent gift of art kits from children in Provo, Utah. For historic meeting brought scientists together to collaborate families in need, we also provided phone credits to enable in studying and protect whales and dolphins. lessons over the phone. E

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• El Salvador’s government has been welcoming. In recent • Local rangers, Junior Rangers, and community members months, we have worked closely with the ministry of the enjoyed participating in several international bird counts in environment on national-level planning for cetaceans, yellow- Nicaragua. In late 2019, they recorded 3 species new to naped Amazon parrots, and black-handed spider monkeys. their country’s Global Big Day count. At the start of 2020, our participants counted 149 species in the Christmas Bird • Salvadoran community members like B are regularly Count — 12 more than last year. patrolling to document shy Salvadoran spider monkeys on our behalf. It has been exciting to see their pictures of these • The InvestEGGator decoy turtle egg and our sea turtle rediscovered primates, of which science has much to learn. conservation work appeared on Good Morning America in March. In addition, BBC, The Economist, CNN, NPR, and • Due to increased poaching pressure, our turtle rangers over 120 other international news outlets just published sto­ are focusing their efforts to protect the most important ries about a new peer-reviewed study by Dr. Helen Pheasey, nesting beaches. Their concerns were highlighted in an arti­ who conducted field trials with the egg in Costa Rica. cle from respected environmental news source Mongabay.

F 2020 CANOPY M EMBERS

Chris Ayotte Tyler Nelson Felice Berenson Alice O’Connor Nan Busse & Tobey Kaplan Mary Ann O’Connor Lynn Crew & Aaron Miller Paul & Kristina Otterstrom Kate & Matt Dolkas Sarah Otterstrom & Sherry & Richard Dorfman Rick Rutherford* Kai Ewert & Christy Reich Belinda Abelson Seth Riley & Elise Kelley Josephine & Ross Falvo Lotte & Kevin Roache Jill Forman & David Young Grace Robinson Ben Fryer & Derek Schlereth & Laura Reynolds Rebecca Tinsley Leila Gass Christine Schmidt & George & Amy Gorman Bob Brewer* J OIN THE C ANOPY Evis F. Haake Henkel Smith Tess Herman Rick & Kathy Smith Elaine Hurd Dick & Laura Thielscher Canopy members joyfully “subscribe” Traci Jennings Patricia Wells-Turnage* to our cause. Most send a donation Jonathan & Elizabeth King Michael Whitaker each month. Their thoughtful and con­ Teresa Lang* Susan Wolstencroft sistent gifts stabilize and strengthen Ruth Lee Eliza Woolley* our life-changing daily operations. Levi & Rebecca Lloyd Ginger Woolley* To join this incredible group of donors, Erin Loury please visit pasopacifico.org/canopy or Thank you! Your monthly Inti Luna gifts support us all year start giving monthly to any campaign. Liz Mering and make it possible to You may also virtually “round up your Melanie Miller plan for a better future change” for any card transaction by pasopacifico.org/roundup * Gives multiple monthly donations saving endangered wildlife. signing up at . W HO P ARTNERS C LIMATE C HANGE

WITH U S? Earth’s climate is changing, and no corner of our planet goes unaffected. At press time, Hurricane Eta is Since 1998, nonprofit Fundación Uno striking Nicaragua’s northwestern coast. This Category has supported education, culture, 4 hurricane is the second strongest of the 2020 conservation, and health in Nicaragua. Atlantic season and one of the latest ever. The human Highlights of their environmental and environmental toll of such storms is staggering. activities in the Paso del Istmo wild­ Paso Pacífico is responding by connecting humanitar­ life corridor, where we work, include ian relief organizations, including the California-based a massive reforestation effort along organization Direct Relief, with partners on the ground the Pan-American highway and a in Central America that can mobilize emergency relief. botanical garden that hosts hundreds One of the best ways you can fight climate change and of land-race varieties (local strains) of its effects is to reduce personal carbon emissions. You food crops. can also “fix” the greenhouse gas CO2 back into natural We have joined forces with them to resources such as trees, soil microbes, and ocean plank­ expand protected areas in the Paso ton. Carbon offsets take advantage of this mechanism del Istmo. In January 2020, conserva­ by funding reforestation that removes carbon from the tion pioneer Dr. Jaime Incer Barquero atmosphere. We know these work. Our 2007 offset (above left) and other Fundación program, called ‘Return to Forest’, has restored forest

Uno leaders spoke with our environ­ and over time will absorb over 250,000 tons of CO2. mental education staff and toured a Offsets are not the only strategy to stop climate beach protected by our sea turtle change, but they are one. This year, Paso Pacifico has rangers. We are grateful for this new commited to audit emissions created through our partnership. Together, we will pro­ operations and purchase credits to offset those emis­ tect southwestern Nicaragua’s most sions. We will do this through our new partnership precious resources. with Offset Alliance. This company makes monthly offsets possible. We invite you to research carbon offsetting and consider what you can do today to help conserve Earth as we know it. USA F EATURED S TAFF P. O. Box 1244 • Ventura, CA 93002-1244 Phone: +1-805-643-7044 Email: [email protected] Web: www.pasopacifico.org Coordination in Nicaragua These conservation managers play a NICARAGUA Carretera a Masaya Km 12.4 vital role in facilitating our projects Residencial Villas del Prado, Casa No. 7 and managing our field staff. Managua, Nicaragua Phone: +505-2279-7072 Nohémi Velásquez Administrative Coordinator, Nicaragua EL SALVADOR C/o FUNZEL Resd. Altos de la Cima, Calle #2 Marcos Calero Casa No. 21, Antiguo Cuscátlan Jaguar and Bee Programs Coordinator La Libertad, El Salvador Phone: +503-2566-6148 Julio Collado Community Relations Coordinator Follow Us on Social Media: Jairo Coronado Sea Turtle Program Coordinator

Jarinton García Primate Program Coordinator Board of Directors Anabel Chévez Christy Reich, President Lexington Commercial Holdings Environmental Education Coordinator

Derek Schlereth, Secretary Oswaldo Saballos David Suzuki Foundation Macaw Program Coordinator Teresa Lang, Treasurer South Pole Marlon Sotelo Sonia Ortega Biodiversity Coordinator National Science Foundation

Eric Ponçon Yorlin Vargas ECOM Agroindustrial Corp. Ltd Oyster Program Coordinator Chris Ayotte Home Depot, Inc. Osmar Sandino Marine Science Coordinator Armando Vega Ganadería Llanogrande

Rob Dull California Lutheran University pasopacifico.org/donate