This month TORTUGuiones is submitting a progress report to MINAE, with current data, an initial analysis of threats to sea turtles in Guiones, and recommendations for action. The full report is available in these PDF links in English and Spanish. Here is a brief summary:

The key areas of concern for sea turtle conservation in Guiones are poaching, motorized vehicles, lack of awareness about the Ostional Wildlife Refuge, light pollution, and domestic animals.

These issues are tied to education about the Refuge and enforcement of existing regulations. The need for a MINAE official to be stationed within the Guiones Sector is both justified and urgent in order to maintain a presence, enforce regulations, and mitigate current conservation threats.

Previous blogs have touched on the problems of light pollution, domestic animals, and lack of awareness about the Refuge. Motorized vehicles on the beach cause several problems:

• They are linked to illegal poaching activity
• They rut up the beach, making it difficult for hatchlings to crawl to the sea
• They crush nests and hatchlings that have not surfaced yet
• They destabilize the beach by damaging the beach slope and structure, or killing vegetation

As shown in the photo above, poachers are entering the beach on a motorcycle or quad in the early hours of the morning and driving the entirety of the beach, stopping at each nest to collect the eggs. If you see such a vehicle, please try to take a photo but do not confront the poachers.

TORTUGuiones is taking measures to address these concerns, including signage and barriers to entry for motorized vehicles at beach entrances. Watch for more news on our Facebook page and in next month’s blog.

TORTUGuiones will also be working with Global Leadership Adventures to place markers every 50 meters at Playa Pelada on July 14. Watch for them!
Please continue to report sea turtle activity at www.tortuguiones.org

photo credit Surfing Nosara

The trees are advancing down the Beaches of Nosara! In June BarriGuiones has planted over 1,500 trees from 17 species at the north end of Guiones Beach, taking advantage of the steady rainfall this month. This effort has actively involved all of Nosara’s public and private schools, most of which had been growing trees to be transplanted at their campus over previous months. Over 300 students have planted trees and attended educational workshops. A total of 79 volunteers have also helped out by digging into the dirt to plant trees.

BarriGuiones Project Director Gerardo Bolaños says, “We’re super stoked to be winding up our planting season, which we hope to finish in late July, when university students from Costa Rica and the U.S. will be coming to learn and work with us.”

If you want to get involved, stay alert to the group’s posts, follow BarriGuiones Proyecto de Restauración Costera on Facebook, and join the BarriGuiones Team Riders group.

photo credit Surfing Nosara