Resources Most Urgently Needed – from Mass Audubon Travel Director Karen O’Neill

Over the past 16 years, I have made many trips to Belize and have always been impressed with the ingenuity and hard work of the dedicated staff at TIDE and PFB. With incredibly scarce resources, they can rebuild a dilapidated building into a first-class education center and patrol thousands of acres of wilderness looking for well-hidden poachers. Conservation work is not easy.

Your gifts in the past have made a huge difference, and we thank you and hope your faith in our work will continue. The most urgent resources needed this year include the following.

Funding for rangers: Community members are employed as rangers to patrol the conservation areas, enforce laws, suppress wildfires, protect and monitor wildlife, install artificial nest boxes for endangered Yellow-headed Parrots, and guide local children on field trips to learn about the natural world. For example, $30 pays for a ranger to install five artificial nest boxes for Yellow-headed parrots. $60 pays for two rangers to patrol 25 miles of trails, $100 pays for the Payne’s Creek ranger team to carry out prescribed fires for one day, enabling regeneration of tropical pine savannah (an endangered ecosystem).

Maintenance of equipment: Keeping buildings and machinery functional in a tropical climate can be challenging. Drill and router $600, Air compressor $280, Push mower $375, Ladders $220, Portable welding machine $200.

Tools for Education: Good-quality binoculars for rangers and staff are always needed.

Increasing Visitation: Bringing more tourists to Toledo and Rio Bravo is vitally important for both Programme for Belize and TIDE financially. However, finding suitable, local transportation for groups of students or birders in Belize is very challenging. Small buses and vans are almost impossible to rent and the quality is often poor. Purchasing a 12 seater van or small bus (i.e., a Toyota Commuter 12 Seater Bus) will truly give us more opportunities to bring travelers to TIDE and Rio Bravo in Belize.

Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE)The Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) was founded in 1997 to meet the growing environmental and development needs of the Toledo District, the southernmost district of Belize. TIDE was conceived as a grassroots initiative in response to the negative environmental effects from activities such as manatee poaching, illegal fishing, illegal logging, destructive farming methods, and other types of unsustainable development. Initially started by volunteers, TIDE has now grown to include 20 paid staff.

TIDE’s mission is to research, monitor, and help manage Toledo’s natural resources. The Maya Mountain Marine Corridor stretches from the lush pristine forests of the Maya Mountains to the white sand beaches and spectacular array of colors of

the Belize Barrier Reef System World Heritage Site. In addition, TIDE assists with planning responsible tourism and other environmentally sustainable economic alternatives by providing training and support to local residents.

Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) also leads ecotourism expeditions throughout Belize, in addition to other wildlife conservation and monitoring activities.

Contact Information:Celia Mahung, Executive Director

Toledo Institute forDevelopment and Environment,

Punta Gorda Town, Belizewww.tidebelize.org

The Programme for Belize (PfB) is a Belizean, nonprofitorganization, established in 1988 to conserve the natural heritage of Belize and to promote wise use of its natural resources. The Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA) is its flagship project where Programme for Belize demonstrates the practical application of its principles.

Since its inception, PfB has secured 260,000 acres of forest in northwestern Belize that was otherwise destined to be cleared. The RBCMA represents approximately 4 percent of Belize’s total land area and is home to a rich sample of biodiversity including: 400 species of birds, 200 species of trees, 70 species of mammals, and 12 endangered animal species. On

the RBCMA, PfB conducts research, conservation education, and professional training, and promotes environmental awareness among visitors. In addition, the forests of the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area are important sites for a carbon sequestration project. Here, four million tons of carbon will be sequestered for generations to come.

Contact Information:Edilberto Romero, Executive Director

Programme for Belize, Belize City, Belizewww.pfbelize.org

Belize Conservation Fund

newsletter November 2015

to help:Please send contributions to Belize Conservation Fund

c/o Massachusetts Audubon Society208 South Great Road,

Lincoln, MA 01773Or call Bancroft Poor/Karen O’Neill

at 800-289-9504

Make A DonationTo make a donation to the Programme for Belize (PfB) or to the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), please complete this form and return to:

Massachusetts Audubon SocietyBelize Conservation Fund

208 South Great RoadLincoln, MA 01773

Name

Address

City

State ZIP

Phone

E-mail

___Yes, I would like to make a donation

Donation InformationEnclosed check ____________

Checks should be made payable toMass Audubon –Belize Conservation Fund

or please charge my credit card for the amount of______

#

VISA___MC___ Card Exp:_________

Signature

If you prefer to call, contact Karen O’Neill, Mass Audubon 800-289-9504.

Belize Conservation Fund Newsletter November 2015

The work of rangers in Belize is to protect the land, habitat, and wildlife in conservation areas. Rangers for both the Programme for Belize (PfB) and the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE) have to be skilled in wilderness patrolling and surveillance, navigation, intelligence gathering, biology, wildlife rescue and health, search and rescue, and law enforcement. In northern Belize the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA) is a huge tract of land, 260,000 acres: a mosaic of thick tropical forest, marshes, swamp forests, river, and two large sections of important savannah habitat. Protecting this property from fires, illegal logging and poachers is a dangerous and challenging job for the Programme for Belize rangers.

Besides combating illegal logging activities, fire detection and suppression have been a priority. Wildfire is the leading cause of forest loss in Belize.

PfB rangers monitor fires via a website that provides daily fire points. Fires that appear within and near the RBCMA boundary are studied and suppressed if needed. PfB recently invested in new fire equipment and a fire

tower to assist their efforts. This year, five fires were actively suppressed. They had potential to cause great damage to the Rio Bravo forest and the nesting habitat of the Yellow-headed Parrot.

In southern Belize, TIDE manages three protected areas: the Port Honduras Marine Reserve, Payne’s Creek National Park, and the TIDE Private Protected Lands. Rangers working in the Port Honduras Marine Reserve are focused on law enforcement. The rangers ensure that fishermen have valid licenses and are following fishing regulations. Rangers confiscate any gillnets they find and ensure that recreational visitors also respect the regulations. In Payne’s Creek National Park and the TIDE Private Protected Lands, rangers are on the lookout for illegal poaching and logging.

On land, rangers’ work is focused controlling human-caused wildfires, a major threat to the tropical pine savannah (an endangered ecosystem) in and around Payne’s Creek. The rangers attend yearly fire management training to make sure they are up-to-date with the latest techniques.

Rangers on Patrol – Northern and Southern Belize

www.facebook.com/pages/PROGRAMME-FOR-BELIZE

www.facebook.com/TIDEBZEThank you for your support!

Belize Conservation Fund Newsletter November 2015

Birding for Books… Scholarship Program – both TIDE and PfB For 19 years, early every Wednesday morning, 20 to 35 birders gather north of Boston, Massachusetts, at the Mass Audubon Joppa Flats Education Center. Joined by their love of nature, birds, and birding, they are also connected to Belize, thanks to the staff at Joppa Flats.

When Bill Gette, Sanctuary Director of the Joppa Flats Education Center, and David Larson, PhD, Science and Education Coordinator, were teaching guide training programs in Belize in 2007, they heard about deserving students who had to forego their high school educations because their families could not afford to send them. High school education is not free in Belize, and the cost of books, uniforms, and school fees is beyond the means of many families.

Bill Gette and David Larson returned to Massachusetts that year and established the Belize Scholarship Fund. Joppa Flats birders committed to raise scholarship money, and the staff of Programme for Belize and the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment agreed to identify deserving students within their nearby communities to receive the awards.

To raise funds for these students, each December, the Wednesday birding participants donate funds to support Belize student scholarships. Thanks to this generous group, during this school year, four students in northern Belize and seven in the south will receive scholarships. These students are required to make average grades and to give 40 hours of community service in order to renew their scholarship.

According to Eddie Romero, Executive Director of PFB, and Celia Mahung, Executive Director of TIDE, the scholarships have had a very positive impact on their constituent communities. The scholarships help address rural poverty and demonstrate that conservation organizations can have a very positive, direct impact on people’s lives.

“Thanks again for the ongoing support received from Joppa Flats, Mass Audubon over the years! Please be assured that your contribution towards high school scholarships has been extremely helpful in meeting the many requests to assist children who have the potential, ability, and right to basic education.”

With the help of Mass Audubon and in partnership with the U.S. National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Everglades National Park, The Nature Conservancy, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, TIDE trained nine Belizean protected area managers to the advanced level of “burn boss,” giving them the necessary skills in prescribed fires in pine savannahs to prevent dangerous wildfires. The pine savannah is an endangered ecosystem and provides critical habitat for species such as the endangered Yellow-headed Parrot. Prescribed fires protect these areas and species by preventing more intense late-dry-season fires, enabling pine saplings to regenerate and maintaining pine snags (dead pine trees), which are the preferred nesting site for Yellow-headed Parrots.

Yellow-headed Parrots are actively sought by poachers because chicks can be sold for significant profit. Rangers from both PfB and TIDE regularly carry out assessments of the nesting sites.

Despite quite a bit of illegal entry into the savannah, constant patrolling in the areas known to be nesting sites have kept poachers from causing severe impact. Good transportation and tools are critical for rangers. In the past year, donations from the Belize Conservation Fund have allowed the Programme for Belize to purchase a much-needed Toyota Hilux (ATV truck) for ranger and staff patrols which prevented illegal loggers from benefiting from their spoils and destroyed five illegal poachers’ huts.

TIDE marine rangers pioneered the use of the SMART technology tool. SMART is Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool – a Geographic Information System software that allows conservation enforcement teams to conduct more effective patrols. By mapping illegal activities, rangers can target patrols to the places and times they are most needed. TIDE rangers can now monitor the movements of potential poachers, as well as protected species of interest such as manatees, dolphins, and big cats.

Monitoring bird nests and habitats and stopping poachers, illegal loggers, and wildfires are just three of the many jobs that rangers in Belize must do. Help us help them with your gift today.

Education Center inspiring Environmental ProtectionThe Programme for Belize actively promotes environmental education in schools throughout Belize and encourages ecologically sound economic activity in the villages surrounding the Rio Bravo area.

Solid environmental education programs that teach local children to respect their human and natural environments help secure a safe future for this area. The Programme for Belize has worked closely with the government to incorporate environmental science into the curricula for elementary schools. Programme for Belize staff also visit schools to provide ecology-related educational lectures. One of the most rewarding activities is hosting students at La Milpa or Hillbank – expanding their appreciation of the sciences and ecology at the field level. There are more than 1,000 students visiting the RBCMA annually. PfB also reaches international students by hosting ”Save the Rainforest” courses, which include one week of terrestrial ecology and one week of marine ecology.

This vitally important work needed a safe classroom. The Education Center, formerly in need of significant repair and reconstruction, now is a functioning lecture hall, library, and small museum, thanks to you, our supporters

This building will benefit more Belizeans and touch the hearts and minds of more students nationally and internationally. Environmental education is a critical part of our mission.

Rangers on Patrol – Northern and Southern Belize (cont.)

Ridge to ReefRidge to Reef Expeditions (R2R) was launched by TIDE in 2014 as a way to connect people with conservation activities including: PADI SCUBA training, conch and sea cucumber monitoring, nesting turtle beach patrols, biodiversity monitoring, reforestation, amphibian monitoring, and much more. This year, TIDE raised funds to cover the cost for one local Belizean participant to join the program. Javier Alegria, a biology student from the University of Belize, joined the expedition for eight weeks and was an integral part of the team.

R2R is excited to be welcoming its first university study abroad group in January 2016, with further expeditions planned throughout the year. A new website was also launched in 2015, where you can find out more about the program and expeditions: www.fromridgetoreef.com.

Reef Guardians TIDE recently received a grant from New England Biolabs Foundation for a project titled Reef Guardians. This project will pilot a program that we hope will elevate the status of the Belize Barrier Reef in the public consciousness. Australia’s “Reef Guardian Schools” program has been highly effective at motivating stewardship of the Great Barrier Reef. This proven program builds awareness and appreciation for the reef system, fosters a culture of stewardship, and empowers students to make a positive difference.

Three schools in Punta Gorda, Belize, will participate in designing and testing a Belizean Reef Guardian Schools program, in which schools improve standards for coral reef education and reduce their impacts on the reef. Schools, teachers, and students will benefit from enhanced educational resources and training – including opportunities to engage with coral reefs through virtual learning platforms and field trips – as well as from mini-projects that improve school environments while lessening impacts on the reef, and from the sense of community that comes with taking collective action to safeguard the reef.

Belize Bird Language and Tracking Adventure: March 11th – 20th 2016

Learn the language of the birds while searching for tracks and signs of animals in the tropical forests of Belize, a country with amazing biodiversity! Led by specially trained guides, you will visit several different ecosystems including jungle, coastal, and tropical savannah habitats as experts will teach you the secrets for unlocking the inherit meanings in the birds’ voices, which will tell you what ground animals are nearby, where they are moving, and what threats are in the air or canopies above. This expedition will be a unique adventure that will help you understand the complex interactions that are occurring at each moment between the creatures that reside here!

Price: $4,590 per person, (plus $257 for a single room) Lower budget accommodation available upon request.

For details and more information, contact Caroline Oliver ridgetoreef@tidebelize.org

Naked and AfraidThis past spring, the cast and crew from the Discovery Channel survival show spent three weeks in Rio Bravo. Without giving too much away – we can tell you that they survived and left with a new appreciation and respect for the nature of Belize! The conservation-oriented crew were very responsible and felt honored to have had experienced the Rio Bravo forests. Take a bow!

For your own Belize Birding and Natural History Tour, contact travel@massaudubon.org March 12, – March 20, 2016

Model of La Milpa Archaeological Site in museum case.

Upgraded Classroom area with new chairs/desks

Top Photo: 2014-2015 scholars in a meeting with TIDE; 2014-2015 scholarship winners: Kiyani Blanco, Alexander Parham, Alicia Pop, Marcus Xi, Charlee Gibson, Rolman Martinez, and Argentina Coc.

Joppa Flats Wednesday Morning Birding Group