Sanctuary
OUR CONSERVATION PROJECT
The Aguacate Natural Reserve
Unique Habitats Dry Tropical Forest
Mangrove Estuary
The primary habitat types on this property are dry tropical forest and an associated mangrove estuary. Dry tropical forests, the most endangered tropical forest type, are woodlands characterized by an extreme seasonal dichotomy, with a dry season of prolonged drought conditions that leads most trees to lose their leaves (deciduous), followed by a rainy season resulting in a wave of lush color across the landscape as plants leaf out and go into flower. This extreme in seasonality is a powerful selection pressure and has lead to a high rate of endemism, species only found here. In fact, dry tropical forests have the highest rate of endemism in birds of any habitat type in the world.
The associated mangrove estuary on the property is another truly unique and special ecosystem. Like the surrounding woodlands, it too sees drastic seasonal change. During the dry season it becomes isolated from its marine counterpart as it dries up and ceases flowing into the bay. Much of the estuary desiccates, leaving mud flats that are important for shore birds, and disparate pools were resident wildlife takes shelter from the drought conditions. When the rainy season commences, the topography of the area funnels rainwater into the estuary, filling it back to the high water mark and eventually breaking through the sand barrier at the beach and again flowing into our protected marine sanctuary. During this time of the year, life flourishes in the estuary, with many marine and freshwater species using this time to hatch and rear their young in its bountiful waters. These two systems together serve as critical partners in supporting countless species that require multiple systems to persist in this extreme environment.
The mission of Morgan's Rock Sanctuary is to preserve and perpetuate the incredible wealth of biodiversity found within this magical property. From the intimidating spectral bat to our always smiling Hoffmann's two-toed sloth, we take an “even the ugly ones” approach, with the goal of maintaining our full suite of species for future generations to enjoy.
- OUR VISION-
Our Conservation Strategy
A Step Wise approach
BIOTIC INVENTORIES
Step 1
We obviously know we have many of the larger, more visible species such as howler monkeys and sloths as well as many of the cryptic species such as ocelots and jaguarundis. But we are concerned about the totality of our biotic suite, as we like to say, “even the ugly ones.” To fully understand that biotic suite, we will be conducting intensive biotic inventories through collaboration with countless experts on the various phyla. This will give us a complete picture of the resources we manage and identify our “species of greatest conservation need,” (SGCN) those identified as at-risk, threatened, or endangered.
Conservation in Action!
Step 4
Finally, we will use that master plan to engage NGOs, governmental funding agencies, and private and corporate sponsors to fund our conservation efforts and mission. Through the holistic acquisition of grants, donations, and funding from our regenerative real estate model, we will fund a myriad of “boots on the ground” conservation projects with the aim of protecting and perpetuating our SGCN resources. Truly impactful resource conservation isn't an overnight process, it is a methodical, data-driven approach that concentrates on sound, ecosystem-level management over single-species “feel good” projects that only address the charismatic megafauna.
Distribution, Density, and Landscape Use Surveys
Step 2
After we determine our SGCN resources, we will conduct studies to quantify their usage of the landscape. With that, we will determine critical habitat composition for each species which will tell us the most important tracts of existing habitat and the target state for areas we are restoring. That will shape our management efforts as we learn how best to utilize our conservation dollars to benefit those species of greatest need.
Adaptive Management
Step 5
Congruent to our conservation initiatives, we will be conducting studies related to all of our management activities with the goal of learning from every project we implement. The world around us is constantly evolving, the climate is rapidly changing, and human impacts, both good and bad, result in ever changing selection pressures impacting the biosphere around us. With that in mind, we will constantly refreshing our biotic inventories and landscape use assessments to ensure our management plan adapts with the world around us. This commitment to “adaptive management” will ensure we are constantly honing our craft which will not only increase our effectiveness but also ensure increasing efficiency in our conservation spending.
Conservation Master Plan
Step 3
After we determine our SGCN resources and their utilization of the landscape, we will use that information to create a “master plan” for our conservation strategy. This plan will have an in-depth outline of the resources we manage and their distribution on the landscape, identification of the critical habitats on our property and their composition, and a management strategy to preserve those habitats and expand those characteristics to portions of our property that are currently degraded.
SUPPORT OUR EFFORTS
Designed
We obviously know we have many of the larger, more visible species such as howler monkeys and sloths as well as many of the cryptic species such as ocelots and jaguarundis. But we are concerned about the totality of our biotic suite, as we like to say, “even the ugly ones.” To fully understand that biotic suite, we will be conducting intensive biotic inventories through collaboration with countless experts on the various phyla. This will give us a complete picture of the resources we manage and identify our “species of greatest conservation need,” (SGCN) those identified as at-risk, threatened, or endangered.
Why Collaborative Funding ?
As every habitat manager knows, funding is the biggest impediment to success. We feel our holistic approach to funding will serve as a new model for effective management of our biotic resources. Through leveraging our regenerative real estate model, public donations, and corporate sponsors, we can generate the “match” that is necessary to apply for most grant funding. Most people don't know that most conservation grants have a “match” requirement, meaning you have to supply a proportionate amount of funding to that you are applying for.
Because of this, many impactful projects go unrealized, as the lack of “seed” money prevents the grant door from ever being unlocked. And the doubling of match funds generated through successful grant applications is critical to maximizing impact on the landscape. But together with your support, corporate sponsorships, and our novel real estate approach, we are confident we can grow our sanctuary endowment fund and match every dollar with grants, to ensure the persistence of our biodiversity for generations to come. Thanks for your support!