This month Happy Trails takes to the trees. Please come along!

Have you noticed fewer monkeys around the beaches of Nosara? Here’s why: the rise in tourism and the construction that goes with it have depleted trees in Playa Guiones and Playa Pelada.

Howler monkeys eat, sleep, and play in the trees, and they use the canopy to travel safely between feeding grounds. Removing even one tree cuts off a natural crossing and affects all the monkey troops in the area. Worse, drought has decreased resources, forcing monkeys and other wildlife to travel along dangerous power lines and across busy roads to reach food, avoid fights, and escape predators.

But there’s hope. Wildlife Crossings, a project of Refuge for Wildlife, SIBU Sanctuary, Nosara Civic Association, and Costas Verdes, is creating new pathways for tree-dwellers between NCA parkland, green spaces, and maritime zones. Volunteers from these organizations and SIBU Sanctuary are mapping current wildlife routes and will then install rope bridges and plant trees to provide more food sources and re-establish links between green spaces. Wildlife Crossings is also working with Stop the Shocks to prioritize ICE’s insulation of transformers and power lines near monkey crossings.

According to Refuge for Wildlife Board member Laura Wilkinson, the project is starting in K section, historically the area with the highest number of monkey fatalities. “We have mapped the area, recording deforestation, monkey trails, uninsulated transformers, and locations where rope bridges and reforestation would help. We will be contacting homeowners whose properties meet the qualifications.”

How can you help?

• Join in mapping deforested areas, monkey trails, uninsulated transformers, and areas where a rope bridge and reforestation will create new, safe crossings.
• If you own property, plant native trees in locations that help regrow the forest Contact Wildlife Crossings (info@refugeforwildlife.com) or Costas Verdes (gerardo.bolanos@costasverdes.org) first, because the type of tree and its location are critical.
• If you’re planning to build, work with your architect, building manager, and Wildlife Crossings to preserve mature trees and natural trails.
• If monkeys travel through your property and you’re willing to create a new monkey trail, contact info@refugeforwildife.com.
• Buy a special fundraising T-shirt (*More trees, Less Assholes”) from Hot Tamale, Cazar, or Pilates Nosara
• Donate directly to Wildlife Crossings on the Refuge for Wildlife website: refugeforwildlife.com/donate/. Each 25-meter bridge costs $100.

The next version of the fundraising T-shirt will feature a Greek proverb: “A civilization flourishes when people plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.” Together, we can keep wildlife in our jungle for generations to come.