a long-term lease on this farm to the Santa Elena high
school. The school, which focused on vocational
training in agriculture and home economics (Stuckey
1992), tried to develop the farm, but the wet condi-
tions and bad road hampered farming. By 1988, the
high school's declining enrollments and economic
problems led to a search for new uses for the farm.
This search coincided with the growth of eco-
tourism. Some Santa Elena residents resented the
MCFP because they perceived that the money was
going to TSC in San Jose instead of providing local
benefits (L. Vivanco, pers. comm.). The high school
proposed to MIRENEM that the farm be developed as
an ecotourism reserve to provide local financial ben-
efits. Funds from entrance fees would provide money
for school programs, facilities, and supplies. The SER
would also provide employment for local people, in-
cluding high school students. Tourism in Santa Elena
would increase the need for local housing, food, and
taxis. Several of the hotels in the Monteverde area,
concerned over the impact of visitor limitations at the
MCFP, were willing to offer support for the devel-
opment of an alternate tourist destination (Wearing
1993, F. Valverde, pers. comm.).
In 1991, the high school signed a five-year lease
with MIRENEM to develop the farm as an ecotourism
project. A Canadian volunteer group, Youth Challenge
International (YCI), brought volunteers from Canada,
Australia, and Costa Rica to join volunteers from the
high school and build the infrastructure of SER. They
constructed the visitor's center and its displays, caf-
eteria, guard station, and dormitory. They built trails
and an Arenal volcano viewing platform, conducted
community impact surveys of tourism, established a
biological garden, and obtained support for SER from
WWF-Canada (Wearing 1993, Youth Challenge Inter-
national 1994). Other volunteers have extended the
trail system; four trails covered 12 km by 1998. Im-
proved signage, better road access, and bathroom fa-
cilities also have been constructed (F. Valverde, pers.
comm.). Several local hotels, alarmed by the increas-
ingly long lines of disgruntled tourists waiting to get
into the MCFP, donated construction materials, and
MIRENEM gave funds for the dormitory (L. Saenz,
pers. comm.).
The visitor's center at SER has an extensive inter-
pretative display. The walls are covered with bilin-
gual posters and murals that educate visitors on gen-
eral cloud forest ecology and the history and mission
of the SER. Students from the zone and other areas
of Costa Rica are given educational tours. The high
school's applied ecology program uses SER for study
and research, training students for jobs with biolo-
gists, and preparing students to become natural his-
tory guides (L. Vivanco, pers. comm.).
When SER opened, there were relatively few visi-
tors; visitation increased from 3100 in the first year
of operation (March-December 1992) to more than
13,000 in 1994 and 1995 (Fig. 10.12). Increase in
visitorship was due to five factors: (1) local hotels
recommended SER because there were waiting lines
at the MCFP; (2) lower entrance fees ($5 for foreign
tourists versus $8 for the MCFP); (3) SER was more
rustic, providing a greater sense of adventure and
opportunities to see more birds; (4) SER directly aided
the local community, which appealed to many tour-
ists; and (5) travel guides included it beginning in
1994 (L. Saenz, pers. comm.). Decreases in visitorship
in 1996 and 1997 (Fig. 10.12) were primarily due to
declining numbers of tourists coming to Costa Rica,
but some of the decline in 1997 was due to the open-
ing of the "Skywalk" on the road leading to the SER,
which siphoned off some potential visitors.
The SER was originally managed by the high
school's administrative board. In 1994, a nonprofit
foundation, Fundacion Centro Ecologico BosqueFigure 10.12. Total annual
number of visitors to the Santa
Elena Reserve (* = March-
December 1992). Source: L Saenz
and F. Valverde (pers. comm.).368 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone