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In most places, 300 acres probably isn’t a big deal. Where I live in the northeastern US, a 300-acre tract of protected forest is common. Less than a drop in a really big bucket. There are islands in the Caribbean where conservation is aggressive: 60% of the US Virgin Island of St. John is protected, and the addition of a 300-acre reserve there might barely be noticed.

However, in the Dominican Republic, every smidgen of land that can be protected adds up to what will eventually, probably, turn out to not be enough. Presently, the DR has officially designated 70 protected areas. 24 of them have personnel (Ottenwalder 2000). Management plans have been written for 10, 6 of which have been partially implemented (Latta, Rimmer, Wiley, et al, 2006). Land within these “protected” areas is often illegally logged and farmed due to a lack of enforcement. Additionally, the remaining privately held forest is dwindling, giving way to lucrative cattle grazing. Thus, there is obvious value in protecting even the smallest amount of habitat.

The 300 acres we are targeting as a reserve will have a positive impact on the larger plantation’s production acreage, as well. Best management practices, many of which are already in place, and the owners’ strong conservation ethic will in essence protect the entire 1,100-acre plantation; all of the habitats within it will benefit.

An important aspect of the reserve will be to educate and introduce younger generations of Dominicans to the value of conservation, and as surrounding landowners are educated as well, the idea of managing for wildlife will become more accepted and practiced. This type of model follows closely on the heels of the newly established Reserva Privida Zorzal, a 1000-acre conservation area set aside through efforts by Chris Rimmer and others to protect the threatened Bicknell’s Thrush.

If enough people begin to realize the importance of protecting the winter habitats of our US migrants, perhaps more support will go towards keeping many more than 300 forested acres, forested. In fact, at this week’s UN Climate Summit, one of the big ideas is for developed countries to pay developing countries not to cut their forests. In this project, we don’t have to pay anyone to do it, we just have to do it!

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