Turtle Nesting Site Considered for Refuge

A critical leatherback turtle nestingsite on the Nicoya Peninsula, on thePacific coast, is close to gaining protectedstatus as the “Playa Caletas-Ario NationalWildlife Refuge,” the Costa Rican Sea-Turtle Restoration Program (PRETOMA)announced last week.“The area under considerationincludes large expanses of wetlands andmangroves which play host to a widevariety of flora and fauna, includingnumerous species of endangered plants,birds, reptiles and small mammals,” PRETOMArepresentatives said in a statement.“Leatherback populations are sodepleted in the Eastern Pacific that thisparticular nesting habitat merits officialprotection as a vitally important step inavoiding their extinction” said AlexanderGaos, PRETOMA’s Beach Projects director,in the statement.