TREE OWNERS NEWS
Fall 1995
Sherry and I hope that you
will never tire of hearing our "thank you" as we express our continuing
gratitude to all of you for being part of Tropical American Tree Farms and for continuing
to share this opportunity with others.
Together we have
accomplished a lot since the beginning of our first planting just three years ago.
- we have now planted more than 520,000 tropical
hardwood trees of 44 species
- we have planted more than 17,000 shelter and fruiting
and flowering trees for the birds and animals - trees that will never be harvested
- the farms now total a bit more than 3,700 acres, of
which much more than half is in conservation
- we are now protecting more than 1,500 acres of
rainforest
- we have set aside an additional 800 acres in
protection and regeneration areas on steep hillsides, along the rivers and streams, and
connecting corridors - these areas will once again be forest
- the Rainforest Alliance has completed their 1995
field audit of our farms and operations, and have re-certified Tropical American Tree
Farms as a well-managed Smart Wood source.
We thank you all again for making all of this
possible.
Sherry and Steve with a three year old teak tree on Campo Real
PRICES GOING UP!
Prices of all of our species will be going up
effective October 15. |
We are often asked how are
things on the farms.
The answer is that
everything is wonderful. Beto is doing an excellent job, the farms and trees are well
maintained, and the trees are growing beautifully.
Our foresters' work in
helping us select the best farms for growing our trees is becoming increasingly evident.
Our oldest trees are now three years old and they are a good indicator of the growth of
all of the trees.
The three year old ron-ron,
guapinol, and manglillo are now 15 to 18 feet tall and 2 inches in diameter. The cocobolo,
cristobal, and corteza are now about 15 to 20 feet tall and 2 to 3 inches in diameter. And
the three year old terminalia and amarillon are 20 to 25 feet tall and 3 inches in
diameter.
The teak is even more
dramatic. The three year old teak now averages 30 feet tall and 3 to 6 inches in diameter,
with a few as large as 40 feet and 7 inches in diameter - in just three years.
The Costa Rican forestry
department has asked to use our farms as examples of the importance of good site selection
for planting trees. They have conducted in-field forestry classes at Campo Real.
Sherry has included a few
pictures of tree growth in this newsletter.
We now see many more birds
and animals on the farms. Riding on a trail that used to lead through hot dry pasture, we
now have seen several coatimundis for example.
One of our workers recently
saw an ocelot, a small, very shy and increasingly rare member of the cat family.
We have also noticed a
significant number of "loras," large all-green parrots, that we had not seen on
the farms before. One of our tree owners who is an expert in that sort of thing determined
from my description that they are a species of Amazon parrots.
It is exciting and
fulfilling to know that these birds and animals are moving back into areas that once
before were their home.
For all of the 21 years
that I have been traveling to Costa Rica, I have stayed at the Cabinas at Punta Dominical.
The cabinas are rustic but beautiful, the setting in among huge trees high on a rocky
cliff overlooking the ocean is spectacular, the views out over the Pacific are wonderful,
the service is very warm and friendly, and the food in the restaurant is outstanding.
We have loved staying at
the cabinas, and if you come to see your trees, we would recommend that you stay at the
cabinas.
But the more Sherry and I
are on the farms, with all of the trees, the rivers and the forests, the more we are drawn
to the indescribable tranquility, the vitality, beauty and wonderful peace of the farms.
And the more we have longed
to have a home there - someplace we don't need to pack up and vacate for the next
occupant, someplace where we can leave our books on the table, and Sherry can cook her
wonderful meals.
So we decided that we would
build a house on Campo Real. It would be a simple house, just one story, with a tin roof,
but it would have skylights, a porch across the front, and an extra bathroom for when my
boys visit.
Sherry and I worked up a
plan on the computer using one of the home architecture plans, and on the morning of May
7, as we were leaving the farm to come to the States, we showed Beto the spot high up in a
private area of the farm we had chosen for the house, and showed him the drawings.
As usual, Beto said
"porque no" when we asked about building there.
Once back in the U.S., we
faxed a few more details about the location of the road, and descriptions of the bamboo
furniture.
When we got back to the
farm on June 26, just seven weeks later, the house was ready.
Beto had, in that short
time, put in a mile-long road up to the site, and built the house exactly as we had asked.
Mario had gotten the furniture, appliances and even the big ferns and palms in large clay
pots for the porch, exactly as we had asked. Mario and Saida had gotten the pans,
utensils, dishes and everything else we would need. The refrigerator was full of food,
milk, and fresh juices - everything we needed.
Hernan and Saida had even
brought in fresh wild flowers from the farm.
Sherry cried as we walked
into our new home.
Everyone who worked on the
house was delighted to know our joy at the work they had done. They all are anxious to
please, and proud of doing a good job.
That is what it is like
working in Costa Rica.
Since we have planted most
of our available land, and Sherry and I are very motivated to plant more trees, we have
decided to actively look for additional land that will fit our requirements, be close
enough to our existing farms to manage, and still can be available at an affordable price.
As land prices in Costa
Rica continue to rise, finding suitable land at a price reasonable for tree farming is
becoming increasingly difficult. But, as with all things, perseverance yields results.
A farm of about 230 acres,
across the Savegre river from our Rio Blanco farm, came available in April, while we were
in the U.S. Beto checked the farm and thought it perfect for our plans.
Approximately 130 of the
230 acres are rainforest, that we are now protecting, and approximately 100 acres will be
for planting our tropical hardwood trees - enough capacity for about 30,000 native
species, and a special bonus of a small amount of flat land along the Savegre suitable for
about 10,000 teak trees.
The price was also in a
reasonable range. We quickly negotiated the terms and optioned the farm so we could study
it more thoroughly when we got back to Costa Rica.
We carefully reviewed the
farm and concluded that it fits perfectly with our requirements. We closed the purchase in
July. It is now part of Rio Blanco.
Within a week after we
completed the purchase, Beto was busy working on planting the teak area on this new farm.
Also, about ten minutes
north of Santo Domingo, near a village called Capital, we were able to buy a 60 acre flat
farm that is all perfectly suitable for teak. It is small but it is a gem. We quickly
closed on it in early August, and Beto planted it as well.
With the addition at Rio
Blanco and this new farm at Capital, we will now have some 1995 teak available.
We are also working on
acquiring two important areas of rainforest to protect. One is 250 acres of rainforest
next to Rio Blanco that our neighbor has begun to clear. That purchase has been elusive,
but we now have a verbal agreement with the owner. Time, and more effort, will tell.
At Santo Domingo, an aging
neighbor who owns approximately 50 acres of rainforest next to our forest was considering
logging his forest. After six months of negotiations, we have made an agreement to
purchase his forest, and that should close within the next few weeks.
We obviously cannot buy all
of the rainforest that is in danger, but where it is important to the protection of our
own forests, we are committed to try.
Access to remote areas in
Costa Rica is constantly being improved, and Rio Blanco is no exception. Work on one of
the roads to Rio Blanco has now progressed to only a mile from the farm, and should be
finished this coming dry season.
When the road work is
finished, Rio Blanco will be connected with year-round access to both San Isidro and
Quepos.
We had always planned in
the next several years to improve one of the roads to Rio Blanco, at our own expense if
necessary, to better move our tropical hardwoods to market at harvest time.
We had hoped to enjoy the
complete solitude and low land prices of horse-only access at Rio Blanco for a while
longer, but we are very happy to have the improved access, even if a little ahead of our
schedule.
As you know from our recent
letter, after four years of searching we finally found some purpleheart to plant this
year. Quite a number of you had asked for purpleheart because of its uniquely beautiful
wood.
Purpleheart used to occur
in the area of our farms, but has been exploited out of existence in our area and is now a
threatened species.
Beto had been working
diligently to find some purpleheart for us and learned of a small remote valley several
hours south of our farms where loggers had found purpleheart in the forest.
He went to the area and
confirmed that indeed there were purpleheart trees there. He described a lush valley that
until recently had been nearly untouched, but now logging roads crisscrossed the hillsides
and flatbed trucks were along the side of the road with huge purpleheart logs on them.
The secret was out - and
the purpleheart would soon be also.
Beto sent Hugo, one of our
best workers, back to the area and offered him a bonus for each purpleheart seedling he
could find. Hugo scouted under the few remaining purpleheart trees, found some little
purpleheart seedlings, and carefully removed some, placing each one into a black plastic
nursery bag for the trip to Campo Real. The little seedlings were then immediately planted
in the field in holes Beto already had prepared for them.
We planted some for
ourselves and, as we promised, let tree owners know that some beautiful purpleheart
seedlings were available. Almost immediately they were all spoken for.
Because of the demand, and
growing scarcity of purpleheart, we have contracted with a forestry engineer with the
National University to produce some purpleheart seedlings from seed in their nursery for
our next planting.
Continued in part two
next page - Fall
1995 Tree Owners News - part two
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