We've changed our name from Community Conservation Consultants (CCC) to Community Conservation, Inc. (CC). I'ts easier to say and it's a change we've been wanting to make for some time.

When we began in 1989 as Howlers Forever, Inc., our purpose was to aid the Community Baboon Sanctuary, an experimental grassroots conservation effort in Belize. As the scope of our organization broadened, we soon adopted the CCC trade name to reflect our work in a wide range of community-based conservation programs. We also created the trade name Orang-utan Press for our publications work.

In September, we officially dropped Howlers Forever, Inc. and became Community Conservation, Inc., while still using the Orang-utan Press name. Our logo, shown above, has dropped a "c" to match the name change.

The new name will simplify record keeping and eliminate some of the confusion caused by the three different titles. CC, we believe, is also the simplest and best way to express what we do as we work to empower people around the world to conserve their natural resources at the community level.

CC Director Dr. Rob Horwich and Dr. Fred Koontz of the Wildlife Preservation Trust International travelled to Belize in August to help set up a meeting on a project to protect the Belize River. Dr. Koontz has been an associate of CC for a number of years, having worked with Dr. Horwich on the translocation of howler monkeys into the Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary from 1992-94.

CC has had an interest in developing Belize River protection since 1985 when they began work with the Community Baboon Sanctuary, located on the river. Studies by John Polisar on the Central American river turtle, called hickatee locally, also interested CC in focussing on some of the endangered species of the Belize River. The river is the most important in Belize, providing habitat for diverse wildlife and attracting both domestic and international tourists. It is also a significant fishing resource and serves as a means of transportation for many Belizeans.

Discussions between Horwich and Koontz led to a trip by Koontz to Belize last year and discussions with conservationists and others on Belize River protection. This year, Horwich and Koontz were accompanied by Kevin Madonna and Murray Fischer two members of the Water Keepers Alliance based in New York State.

The Alliance is a consortium of groups who protect a variety of river systems in North America, with 35 Keeper programs in the U.S. and one in Canada. The Alliance is currently interested in expanding its programs to river protection outside these areas and has a specific interest in the Belize River.

During their visit, the Water Keepers representatives were given an introduction to Belize, with stops along the Belize River in Cayo District and in Guanacaste Park in Belmopan, as well as a short trip to Gales Point. Koontz and Horwich also made a side trip to meet with Director Patrick Scott and board members of the Sibun River Watershed Association in the village of Ringtail.

The focus of the trip was a meeting on Belize River protection, which took place on August 12 and was held at the Belize Zoo's Tropical Research Center. The meeting was organized with the help of Tony Garrell of the Belize Zoo and Mick Fleming of the Chaa Creek Cottages in western Belize. Attendees included representatives from governrnent, Belizean NGO'S, some community groups such as the Community Baboon Sanctuary and the Belize tourism industry community.

The meeting began with a short talk by Sharon Matola of the Belize Zoo about the Raspaculo River watershed, the westernmost section of the Belize River. Dr. Koontz then introduced the idea of the river protection project and Mick Fleming spoke about the need for such a project. Kevin Madonna, Executive Director of the Water Keepers, discussed their role in the U.S. and their interest in working outiside the U.S. Richard Harrison, a Belizean Businessman, talked about the annual three-day Ruta Maya Belize River Challenge Canoe Race, begun in 1998, and its importance in the community. Lecture sessions ended with a talk by Dr Horwich on community co-management as a tool for river protection in Belize and the water stewardship program in the Kickapoo watershed, Wisconsin.

After lunch, participants discussed how to proceed to create a river protection project for the Belize River to ensure its long-term ecosystem health. Such a project might include monitoring, preservation and even restoration activities in some parts of the river system, as well as public education and advocacy for the river's wise conservation stewardship. Developing an organizational structure, gathering information, indentifying major pollution sources and wildlife surveys on threatened and rare species were seen as possible initial steps. The meeting concluded with plans of future organizational gatherings to move the project forward.

In August, following a trip to Belize, CC Director Dr. Rob Horwich and Dr. Fred Koontz of the Wldlife Preservation Trust International (WPTI) travelled to Nicaragua to pursue a CC project in the Santa Teresa municipality. CC became involved with Santa Teresa last year through the Richland Center, WI - Santa Teresa Sister City Project. The Sister City Project had invited Dr. Horwich to advise Mayor Jose Martinez of Santa Teresa on protection of the Chacocente Reserve located in his municipality. The Reserve, on Nicaragua's west coast, is home to an important nesting beach for olive ridley sea turtles, as well as being a fragment of the Central American dry tropical forests, which are rapidly disappearing.

Dr. Koontz and WPTI had already been exploring possibilities for conservation projects in Nicaragua. WPTI, whose main goal is to strengthen in-country conservationists, was interested in working with Fundacion Cocibolca (FC), a Nicaraguan NGO. CC was hoping to create a multiple organization partnership to help Mayor Martinez protect Chacocente. Working together was a logical next step.

Upon arriving in Nicaragua, Horwich and Koontz intially met with Dr. Juan Carlos Martinez and others from Fundacion Cocibolca. FC has already begun to work with community land owners to protect Parque Volcan Mombacho and surrounding areas. Mombacho, though a small park, is surrounded by shade tree coffee plantations, which provide habitat for songbirds and other wildlife, in this case, a viable population of mantled howler monkeys. FC has been helping plantation owners create buffer zones around the park.

Following the introduction to Fundacion Cocibolca staff, Horwich, Koontz and Juan Carlos Martinez met with Mayor Martinez to solidify roles that each organization would take in helping to create a project for conservation, research and education at Chacocente. Horwich and Koontz then travelled to Santa Teresa with Mayor Martinez where they were joined by Randall Arauz of Earth Island Instsitue. Arauz, who is based in Costa Rica, is a turtle expert who has been working in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and other parts of Central America for the conservation of sea turtles.

After spending a night in Santa Teresa, the group, along with other community members, visited the Chacocente beaches. They saw the new boat, christened the Hermandad Wisconsin, and motor, which had both been purchased by the Sister City project for patrolling the Reserve.

The weather that day was rough, preventing an outing in the boat, but the visitors were informed that a joint patrol of members from Santa Teresa, the Nicaraguan Department of Natural Resources (MARENA) and soldiers from the Nicaraguan army had already used the boat to make arrests. One thousand pounds of turtle meat had been confiscated and the culprits were awaiting trial. That evening, the group also viewed some howler monkeys as well as turtles laying eggs on the beach. The turtles were video taped using infrared technology.

The next day, Mayor Martinez took the group to see the work that Fundacion Cocibolca had been doing in creating trails and infrastructure for Parque Mombacho. They also visited Lake Nicaragua. The final day of the trip was spent back in Managua with Dr Juan Carlos Martinez, further laying out the partnership roles for the project.

The project will have two main aspects that will satisfy the goals of CC, Santa Teresa, Fundacion Cocibolca, WPTI and the Sister City Project. First, Fundacion Cocibolca will work with a Nicaraguan conservationist to begin gathering information on the interactions between humans and wildlife in the Reserve. Specifically, they will look at community utilisation of turtle eggs and investigate ways in which improvements could be made to help both the turtles and the community. At the same time, FC and the conservationist will begin training community members who will eventually participate in the co-management of the Reserve.

Second, in accordance with the philosophies of CC and the Sister City Project, these two organizations will work to help form a locally-based NGO within the Santa municipality. The NGO would eventually function to assist the Government of Nicaragua in comanaging Chacocente.

The formation of the organization could potentially be accomplished by hiring a local coordinator and providing some volunteer staff from CC. The two facets of the project will work closely together, with Fundacion Cocibolca handling most of the research and training and CC working with Santa Teresa to help create the NGO.

In 1996, CC Director Dr. Rob Horwich was awarded a two-year grant by the National Geographic Society The grant, which was extended for a third year into 1999, was given to support the study of population and social behavior of howler monkeys at the Community Baboon Sanctuary (CBS) in Belize. In May, 1999 Horwich hosted the National Geographic Society Advisory Board at the CBS to discuss the progress and results of the research project.

The visit by the Board included a Sanctuary tour, given by Mr. Fallet Young, the Sanctuary Manager. Mr. Young showed the Board members some of the destruction that had been created by a road which had been constructed through a monkey territory within the village of Bermudian Landing.

The Board also visited the Sanctuary museum where they had a chance to meet members of the community. Dr. Chuck Southwick, of the University of Colorado, spoke with local residents about the importance of howler monkeys to the beginings of the area of primate field studies. Dr. Bernard Nietschmann of the University of California, who had visited the CBS in the past and been pleased with the community support and involvement there, presented a gift to the Sanctuary. He donated two duffle bags full of references on howler monkeys, making the CBS one of the more complete libraries on howler biology.

After the visit to the museum, Horwich and CC Associate Robin Brockett talked with the Board about the findings of the research project. Dr. Peter Raven of the Missouri Botanical Gardens helped Horwich to identify some plants seen in the Sanctuary. Horwich and the Board also travelled to Altun Ha, an archaeological site in northern Belize. During this outing, Horwich had the opportunity to discuss CC's project at the Chacocente Reserve, Nicaragua, with Dr. Nietschmann, a long-time expert on Nicaragua and Chacocente. The Board's visit to the CBS ended as an enjoyable and fruitful experience for all.

PACT (the Protected Areas Conservation Trust), is a Belizean NGO which was recently awarded a three-year grant by the UNDP to develop a community co-managed park system. CC worked closely with PACT on the grant proposal and is now advising and assisting with various aspects of the project. Dr. Jon Lyon, CC Assistant Director, has been working with GIS computer mapping systems to create a set of updated and detailed maps for four of the protected areas falling under the PACT project. Dr. Lyon has also been researching the concept of community co-management of natural resources and, more specifically, protected areas. He has produced a written document that outlines a theory of community co-management and suggestions for its practical application.

The PACT steering committee and the staff of the protected areas within the co-managed park system will be using Dr. Lyon's document in creating the system. To further assist these groups, Dr. Lyon is now working on a written, step-by-step protocol for community conservation programs to follow while developing a community-co-managed system with the Government of Belize.

On a recent visit to the U.S., Eugene Simonov, formerly of the Biodiversity Conservation Center of Moscow, phoned CC Director Rob Horwich to update him on the progress of the Homeland of the Cranes project in Taldom, Russia. The Homeland of the Cranes Zakaznik is a nominally protected 40,000 hectacre wetland in the Moscow Region that serves as a staging area for thousands of Eurasian common cranes.

CC began work with the Homeland of the Cranes at the request of the Viroqua, Wisconsin Area Taldom Friendship Association. CC collaborated from 1994-96 with Russian volunteer staff from the Druzhina for Nature Conservation, a student conservation group and a grant with the International Crane Foundation. Work included assistance with land use planning, community outreach to schools, museum exhibits and a guide book on the Homeland of the Cranes. CC's involvement declined as many of the key Russian volunteer staff left the Homeland of the Cranes project for personal and professional reasons. With the latest news from Mr. Simonov however, CC is excited to see the project moving forward and hear about possibilities for renewed involvement there.

Mr. Simonov has created an ecological center in which he works and lives in Taldom. The center hosts conferences and functions as a residence for volunteer workers, many of whom are members of Druzhina for Nature Conservation. The project in Taldom is continuing with its community outreach programs, including negotiations with hunters, teaching in local schools, running the annual crane festival, and helping with enforcement of laws protecting the environment and cranes.

The project has been working with the new Taldom administration and the Moscow Region administration, which are in the process of creating an Agency for Protected Areas in the Moscow Region. Hopefully, this will upgrade the protected status of the Homland of the Cranes Zakaznik, which presently does not have formal staff or government support. Additionally, the project is working with former Taldom mayor, Alexi Klimenko, who was appointed Minister of the Environment for the Moscow Region. With these positive developments, CC hopes to work closely with Simonov and other volunteer staff to help carry the project forward and make it sustainable.