TIERRA DEL TAMAGAS RESERVE
In 2023, with the help of Honduran and American collaborators, I coordinated the acquisition and establishment of Tierra del Tamagás (“Land of the Jade Viper”) Reserve in Copán, Honduras. Though currently spanning only around 30 hectares, this mountaintop protects some of the last remaining old growth cloud forest habitat in far western Honduras and provides water for drinking and farming to three communities. The reserve is home to one of the world’s most robust known populations of jade palm pit vipers (Bothriechis thalassinus), an endangered species endemic to the highlands of western Honduras and eastern Guatemala. We have also vouchered multiple amphibian species which we believe to be yet unknown to science.
Tierra del Tamagás is the first major step towards our goal to create a wildlife corridor across the range of B. thalassinus. This viper serves as an important indicator of ecosystem health because they only persist within and on the margins of uncut cloud forests.
