Background
The 2200 hectare (5500 acre) Bilsa Biological Station is a nature preserve and a center for field research and environmental education. Founded in 1994 by the Jatun Sacha foundation in memory of Al Gentry and Ted Parker, Bilsa conserves a critical remnant of the coastal premontane wet forest in Ecuador. Less than 1% of this forest type remains. Located in the Mache Mountains in the northwestern coastal provice of Esmeraldas, this remnant forest has a unique floral and faunal composition. The latest efforts underway are large replantings of mahogany for future sustainable use.
Fauna
While physically isolated from the Andes, it possesses species thought to be endemic to the western Andean highland forests (100 km to the SW), as well as species thought to be endemic to the Choco, a pluvial forest of southern coastal Columbia. The region's rugged topography (300-600 meters) and the coastal climate create a dense fog which shrouds all of Bilsa's steeper ridges. These ridges sustain cloudforest species usually restricted to much higher elevations. The reserve's mammals include jaguars, small rare cat species, and abundant populations of the threatened Mantled Howler Monkey. Bilsa is available for use by researchers, university students, interns, natural history visitors, and group tours. Surveys of mammals, herpetofauna, and avifauna have been conducted with remarkable results. The reserve's bird species diversity (224 species) is among the highest of any coastal site. Bilsa also harbors several threatened bird species, and has isolated populations of 9 species never before recorded away from the Andes.
Flora
The ongoing botanical inventory at Bilsa has uncovered 25 plant species new to science. In 1996, the Center for the Conservation of Western Forest Plants was established at Bilsa. The Center now houses 25,000 seedlings for future use in reforestation and plantation projects.