IMMEDIATE HELP NEEDED CLOUD FOREST RESERVE FUNDS COMPROMISED

We are a couple who have been involved in conservation for nearly fifty years. We were the first to rewild a zoo-born baboon to a free living troop in Kenya in the late 1970s. This project was self-financed and mentored by Dr. Jane Goodall, who has remained a close friend and associate through all these years.

In 1993 we moved to rural Costa Rica and created the first community based recycling program in the country. We were also involved in securing former ranch and farm lands and allowing their regeneration to forested areas, thus providing corridors for wildlife between already protected lands.

We had the opportunity to purchase a private cloud forest reserve in 2021, we again used our own financing to make this purchase. It was in fact, all of the proceeds we received from the sale of our private residence and virtually all of our life savings. We felt this necessary as this pristine and vital link to other protected areas was being threatened by developers.

Creating a network of natural trails and rest areas throughout the million square foot cloud forest, each of these was named in honor of iconic conservationists such as Dr. Jane Goodall, David Attenborough, John Muir, Joy and George Adamson, Greta Thunberg, Jacque Cousteau, Sylvia Earle and many others. We believe this to be the only such tribute in the world. Again, as in all of our other endeavors, this was fully self-financed through the sale of personal items.

Our vision, in addition to offering protection to this cloud forest, was to offer educational tours to groups of students and other interested visitors. We were intent on keeping these visits to a minimum to best protect the fragile forest.

Again, should be noted, all of these efforts for the past forty plus years have ALWAYS been self financed. The bulk of finances coming from decades of outside employment and businesses we created to help support these conservation efforts.

As the purchase of the forest took most all of our funds and savings, we were forced to take out a mortgage to keep the project going. As that money began to dry up, we had plans to sell the last of our possessions until we could get a minimal cash flow going. We were just on the verge of returning to the US to sell all of our remaining items in storage when we had our bank accounts hacked! The funds we had planned to use to continue our efforts were all gone.

We currently are dependent on others to help us meet the monthly overhead and needs for us to survive. As the above demonstrates, this is not something that we have ever needed to do in the many decades of our efforts.

Thus, we are looking for a start on our road to recovering the means to continue the conservation and protection of this most important cloud forest.

We would be most thankful and grateful for any support that you may offer.

Our vision remains, and with your assistance it will continue to thrive and provide much needed protection to the wealth of flora and fauna which exist here. This and neighboring protected areas are purported to shelter nearly 5% of all the species in the world! Confirmed residents include pumas, ocelots, margays, agouti, capuchin monkeys, and the endangered tapir, plus 150 species of tropical birds to name but a few. Without this forest such shelter will be lost and so will be the habitat for these and other species. We are dedicated to continue the protection of this forest and to hand it over to our children and grandchildren, who possess a similar vision to continue this work after we are gone.

Again, we appreciate your caring for the environment and like us, realizing the need to protecting the most vital resource of cloud forests, while honoring the icons of conservation.

Peace for ALL Species.