Hi from Costa Rica

[spadlet]

Originally Posted by CRTreeDude

There is already a significant increase in wildlife in the plantations. There is a nearly extinct tropical deer in one plantation that is very well established now - we have a small herd. Lots of other wildlife as well. Since we don't allow hunting, a lot of animals have moved in as a refuge. (animals aren't as dumb as people might think...)

If you don't allow hunting, do you have any alternative methods of population control? If you don't employ population control, have you had any problems with populations reaching a size where they are having a negative impact on the forest?

[12canrescuer]

Originally Posted by spadlet

If you don't allow hunting, do you have any alternative methods of population control? If you don't employ population control, have you had any problems with populations reaching a size where they are having a negative impact on the forest?

It's a rainforest.The animals are the police.
Leave it alone and the forest " figures it out"

.............. Teak is crap....... Guanacaste and Cedro are the BOMB but certain folk want $$$$$$$$ in less than a decade.
For me and my friends, our work re-forestation is just that.
NOT farming.................

[adi]

I think some people might want this to be a proper discussion, can you keep that kind of stuff to your own intro thread?

[CRTreeDude]

Originally Posted by prashamk

That's just great. I am very much worried about how will I be able to make sure that the trees I am planning to plant grow well.

Should I keep them in buckets on my terrace untill they gain in size and then transfer them to areas near water bodies like ponds or similar?

Depends where you live and what kind of climate you have, also what kind of trees you are trying to plant. Our natives only take about 3 to 5 months to go from seed to in the ground. You don't want to get the trees root bound after all. Planting trees larger than half a meter really isn't necessary.

[CRTreeDude]

Originally Posted by spadlet

If you don't allow hunting, do you have any alternative methods of population control? If you don't employ population control, have you had any problems with populations reaching a size where they are having a negative impact on the forest?

Not yet - the deer did like to nibble on the roble coral, but no lasting damage that we couldn't fix. All good now.

We still have predators - in the Amapola plantation we have visiting black panthers - so I don't think we will have a problem.

And on Monte Cristo a reported 6 meter boa was spotted eating a deer... I could believe it was huge because I saw the path.

[CRTreeDude]

Originally Posted by 12canrescuer

It's a rainforest.The animals are the police.
Leave it alone and the forest " figures it out"

.............. Teak is crap....... Guanacaste and Cedro are the BOMB but certain folk want $$$$$$$$ in less than a decade.
For me and my friends, our work re-forestation is just that.
NOT farming.................

Guanacaste is only great on the Guanacaste side of the country, this side, it is junk wood - too soft. Just like on the Guanacaste side, teak is usually short and twisted due to the rains. And, because people don't prune and take care of it like they should, lots of knots. I agree, it is terrible over there. The estimate is that 70 to 80 percent of the teak planted during the late 90s is pretty much worthless.

I assume you mean Pocohete? (Spiney Cedar), or do you mean Cedro Amargo. Both are great woods, but Cedro Amargo has a serious problem with a tip borer - most people lose their plantations if they have too many.

Great you are doing reforestation - wish to describe how you are getting there and how many acres you are planting? I am always curious to what projects are going on.

[CRTreeDude]

Originally Posted by spadlet

If you don't allow hunting, do you have any alternative methods of population control? If you don't employ population control, have you had any problems with populations reaching a size where they are having a negative impact on the forest?

One thing though, I am not against hunting per se, as a method of living with nature. I am part Native American, so it is a cultural thing with me, as it is with many of the people of the countryside here. But, land that was pasture going back to forest doesn't have as many animals, so until we start to have problems, no hunting is allowed - perhaps never.

Except perhaps poachers, I will make an exception and hunt them....

[CRTreeDude]

Originally Posted by spadlet

Do you, or are you planning to, harvest any of the friuts or nuts for human consumption? I'm meaning a more commercial scale than just the odd person that walks through the forest. Or are you going to use them as a food source to subsidise the living costs for your employees in any way?

So far, I have no plans for harvesting fruit and / or nuts commercially. Nice to have for our workers (I have a large orchard here which floods us with fruit that we share as well) I have macadamias, but the squirrels tend to beat me to them - just like back home...

Honestly, the fruit is mainly for the wildlife, they need to eat. Pure mono crops, we we aren't can be pretty sterile.

[12canrescuer]

Lemme just post this........
No cutting .EVER !!~!
Farming is NOT re-foresting........

[CRTreeDude]

Originally Posted by 12canrescuer

Lemme just post this........
No cutting .EVER !!~!
Farming is NOT re-foresting........

My end result is a forest. I can do nothing, like most people, or I can have a system where now more than 750 acres are going to permanent forest that will be protected. What is better? It takes me 12 to 25 years to get there in my system, and if you don't know it, you can't go directly to a mature forest. Your way, if you just plant, will fail. Most of the trees won't survive planted in fields. We are honestly just getting started, if all continues this way, we will have protected 10s of thousands of acres and brought back to nature. Or, I guess I can do 100 or 200 which is my personal limit.

We have forestry engineer, science, and the backing of a lot of environmentalists. They really like what we are doing. There are more than one road. I personally think a lot of the tourism, that you are involved in, is damaging Costa Rica. But, I respect your right to do what you think is best as long as we are moving in the right direction and I understand that eco-tourism helps in a way of bring attention and justifying many of the laws that Costa Rica has and enforces to protect their environment.

I am glad you don't want to cut, ever. Nice, no problem with wanting to do that. But, don't condemn me for having people make money for retirement, for education, etc. WHILE they bring in a permanent forest that will be protected by ecological easement, and much more important than that, the value to the local community.

I have major environmental groups check us out periodically, at our expense. Not for advertisement, but for feedback, etc. Please, don't lump us in with the other growers of trees, we are anything but the same.

Besides, regarding growing crops. You eat vegetables, right? We grow crops to eat - why not trees to us? Wood, unlike steel, is a renewable resource that captures carbon, it is a good thing to have wood harvested as long as it is done in a way that is sensitive to the environment. Just as raising vegetables in a sustainable way is good - unless your lifestyle is such you just harvest fruits and nuts from the forest, it is what you are doing. If a plantation is growing trees in a way that does not harm the environment, I am glad for it, it removes the pressure to poach from the parks, which is a serious problem here, about 50% of the wood you see is poached.

And, if you didn't know it, those Tilapia you like are an exotic that is doing considerable damage to the environment of Costa Rica.I personally will not raise tilapia in my ponds, once they are loose, there is no getting them back, and the ecosystem in Lake Arenal has been damaged considerably by tilapia.

So, let's be nice - I respect your beliefs and that is fine - start your own thread or present an argument for why you believe the way you do and I will be happy to participate.

Regarding as well your Toucan rescue - got a permit for that from MINAE? Lots of foreigners come down here thinking they are doing something good, feel good type things, but bypass the law. Without a permit, what you are doing is illegal. Get yourself down to MINAE (yours would be the Bagaceaus office) and start the long process. Costa Rica does care about their environment, though MINAE is woefully underfunded. A word to the wise if you didn't know about this. MINAE is mean and do not care what your intentions are. MINAE also has a fund to contribute to support them, one of the best things you could do to help here.

Lets keep this friendly, okay? I can't tell you how many times well meaning idealist come here and fail and get chewed up. Costa Rica has its own ideas regarding their lands, their animals, their people. As guests, we need to respect that.

Oh, I do agree farming is not reforestation. A forest is not mono-culture. We have a saying, it is not reforestation unless the end result is a forest. So we agree on this, please don't imply we don't.