room building, a kiosk, ticket booth, workshop and stor-
age building, and a parking lot. The TSC also improved
relations with the Monteverde community by con-
tributing money, labor, and equipment to community
projects and local schools (R. Bolanos, pers. comm.).
The trail system near the main building (the "Tri-
angle") has expanded, and trails have been developed
in the Pefias Blancas valley (Fig. 1.7). Most visitors
walk in the Triangle area, which represents only 2%
of the total MCFP. About half of the 90 km of trails
are used only by guards (B. Carlson, pers. comm.).
As tourist usage increased, trails became eroded;
in 1990, the MCFP began "hardening" the most fre-
quently used trails (at a cost of $15/m), funded with
entrance fees and a grant from USAID (Chamberlain
1993). By 1998, more than 12 km of trails were hard-
ened, mainly with volunteer labor. Three shelters at
distant locations are maintained for hikers, research-
ers, and guards.
Consideration of the master plan also led to the
imposition of visitor limits in 1992. Initial proposals
for 100 visitors a day met strong protests from hotel
owners, and a compromise was worked out. As of
1998, 120 visitors at a time are admitted; they are
spread among the trails in the Triangle by MCFP em-
ployees (R. Bolanos, pers. comm.). In 1992, the MCFP
formalized land-use zoning, designating high use
in the Triangle, research use in an area outside the
Triangle, and no use in sensitive ecological areas
(F. Chamberlain, pers. comm.). A variable fee struc-
ture exists; residents of the area are admitted free (Ayl-
ward et al. 1996).
10.3.2. Environmental Education
The MCFP established its own environmental edu-
cation program (EEP) in 1992. The mission of the
MCFP's EEP is "to create awareness in local, regional
and national populations regarding the importance of
natural resource conservation and the critical role of
protected areas in preserving wildlife as the heritage
of Costa Rica and the biosphere" (Tropical Science
Center 1995, Annex 3, p. 19). Ecological concepts and
human impacts on the environment are stressed for
grades 4-6, which concur with those of the Ministry
of Education (Ministerio de Educacion Publica, MEP)
By 1998, the MCFP's staff was visiting 23 schools
each month and providing MCFP-based workshops
for teachers. About 300 local students come to the
MCFP annually for programs in the EEP classroom
and for guided walks. In 1999, the EEP changed the
focus to adults, working with the parents of children
in six Monteverde Zone schools to increase awareness
of the importance of biodiversity conservation and
biological corridors (M. Diaz, pers. comm.).Students from elsewhere in Costa Rica (primary
grades through university level) attend workshops
and go on hikes. Staff work with communities on
local events such as the Ecological-Cultural Festival
in Santa Elena. In 1996, the EEP started recycling
projects in the zone (Fig. 10.7) and established dem-
onstration projects on organic farming. About 7000
people per year are involved in some aspect of the
preserve's EEP, which is funded with proceeds from
natural history walks and entry fees (M. Diaz, L. Matar-
rita, and O. Quiros, pers. comm.).
Educational materials are distributed and sold at
the MCFP. A trail map and information brochure are
given to all visitors. Illustrated pocket natural his-
tory guides can be purchased in the MCFP's gift shop.
Resident and visiting scientists convinced TSC they
were needed; the scientists wrote and illustrated the
guides pro bono so that proceeds would provide a
fund at TSC to cover the costs of printing guides.
Guides contain a short introduction followed by an
annotated species list and illustrations (Zuchowski
1987, 1995, Hayes and LaVal 1989, Hayes et al. 1989,
Law 1991, Law and Timmerman 1992, Fogden 1993,
Nadkarni 1993, Haber et al. 1996, Ingram et al. 1996).
The MCFP shop sells photographic slides of animals
and plants. In 1992, the Cornell Laboratory of Orni-
thology made an audio tape of the sounds of the MCFP
(Ross 1992); in 1994, TSC produced a videotape, Life
in the Cloud Forest (Tropical Science Center 1994).
The MCFP established a formal visitors' program
and started guided natural history walks in 1989 (Fig.
10.8). Between 1992 and 1995, an annual average of
10,000 people went on the MCFP's natural history
walks, which included a slide show (R. Bolanos, pers.
comm.). By 1997, the number of people on these walks
had declined to 6336 (Tropical Science Center 1998)
because more visitors arrived at the MCFP with private
guides arranged by their hotels. Guide training courses
in 1990 and 1991 were cosponsored by the MCFP and
MCL. The 1991 course lasted four months, and partici-
pants were paid a stipend. Local biologists gave talks
on their specialty areas; daily instruction in English
was provided, but it did not provide fluency for the par-
ticipants. All graduates were immediately employed
(Paaby and Clark 1995). A longer guide training pro-
gram in 1994 that put more emphasis on achieving flu-
ency in English was funded by the RARE Center for
Tropical Conservation, Guanacaste Conservation Area,
and Horizontes Nature Travel (G. Powell, pers. comm.)103.3. Scientific Research and
Its Applications
Although much scientific research has been carried
out at the MCFP, many biologists have felt that TSC360 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone