Date: May 27, 2009
Contact: Kyle Patterson, Santa Elena and Monteverde Cloud Forest Area
Shared Missions and Shared Challenges: Notes from a trip to the southern end of the Continental Divide.
Saturday, May 30, 7:00 p.m. Beaver Meadows Visitor Center Auditorium
Straddling the Continental Divide at 1440 meters (4662 ft), the rainforests and cloud forests of Monteverde, Costa Rica are home to more than 100 species of mammals, over 400 species of birds including 30 species of hummingbirds, tens of thousands of insect species, and 2,500 species of plants, including 420 species of orchids. The area is acclaimed as one of the most outstanding wildlife refuges in the New World Tropics.
This winter, Rocky Mountain National Park staff were invited to provide technical assistance to protected areas in Monteverde as part of the sister city relationship between Estes Park, Colorado and the Municipality of Monteverde, Costa Rica. They traveled to this remote area and worked in partnership with Monteverde residents, sharing ideas and resource information. Join park rangers, Shawn Wignall and Rainey Kreis to find out more about the natural resources of this diverse area and how the National Park Service is working cooperatively with the area’s residents to help preserve Monteverde.
For more information about programs in Rocky Mountain National Park, please call the park’s information office at (970) 586-1206.
