the MCFP. Another portion, Cerro Amigos (1842 m)
has several television towers on land leased to the
government and private firms (Figs. 1.5,1.7). As visi-
tation at the MCFP grew, some Bosqueterno stock-
holders became concerned that TSC was not fulfill-
ing the original terms of the contract. The TSC agreed
to give the corporation money from the tower lease
on Cerro Amigo to support community projects. In
1998, a Bosqueterno commission established a con-
servation easement with TSC on Bosqueterno land to
restrict development both by Bosqueterno stockhold-
ers or their heirs and by TSC.
10.3. The Monteverde Cloud Forest
PreserveThe MCFP, founded in 1972, was the first biological
reserve in the Monteverde Zone. It initially attracted
scientific researchers and later became a magnet for
huge numbers of ecotourists. The MCFP has grown
from an original 328 ha and two volunteer adminis-
trators to about 10,500 ha and a professional staff of
30 (see Figs. 10.3, 10.4).10.3.1. Origins and Development
The discovery of the Golden Toad or sapo dorado
(Bufo periglenes) made Monteverde known to thescientific world. The brilliant orange color of the
males and the toads' very limited range were known
to some of the Quakers. Publication of a scientific
description of the toad caught the attention of the
herpetological community (Savage 1966; see Savage,
"Discovery of the Golden Toad," pp. 171-172).
In 1970, George Powell (Fig. 10.2) came to Monte-
verde from the University of California to study
mixed-species feeding flocks of birds and used the
partially forested farm of John and Doris Campbell,
two of the original Quaker settlers (J. Campbell, pers.
comm.; Fig. 10.5). Powell became concerned about the
rapid disappearance of the forest and focused on two
areas to conserve. The first area, east of Bosqueterno
on the Atlantic side of the Continental Divide, be-
longed to the government and people were home-
steading on it. If they made "improvements" (e.g., cut
trees, planted crops, built a cabin), they obtained
rights to the land after one year and would get title to
the land after ten years. Powell used his savings to buy
out the homesteaders and improvised a bill of sale to
provide a legal claim. The second area, the Brillante
Tract, the only known breeding area of the Golden
Toad, was on the Pacific side of the Continental Di-
vide and belonged to the Guacimal Land Company.
The company offered to donate the land if Powell
could find a nonprofit organization that was legally
recognized in Costa Rica to take it over (G. Powell,
pers. comm.).Figure 10.3. Multilingual entrance sign to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Photograph by
Leslie Burlingame.357 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone