Reforestation

We encourage our neighbors to join us in our commitment to continual reforestation and preservation of the natural habitat of the animals that live in the wooded areas of Costa Verde Estates. Our on-staff landscaper can also act as a consultant on any reforestation project our buyers care to undertake to improve wildlife habitat on their lots. Our goals are to observe and preserve the natural resources, while creating a warm and inviting community with diverse opportunities and breathtaking views.

 

DEVELOPER SPOT LIGHT - TERRY PENLAND: REFORESTATION ADDS VALUE

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Land development need not destroy the natural environment. In fact, done correctly, development can restore land nearly to its original state, attracting native birds and animals and vastly improving value, as Developer Terry Penland has discovered.

In 1993 Penland purchased 205 acres of cattle pasture in Ojochal planted with 20,000 cashew trees. “The land was pasture with little sticks growing on it,” he says.

After following the common practice of clearing the land twice a year, Penland started educating himself about reforestation. He read books and observed rainforest growth patterns. He concluded that conventional wisdom was wrong – slash-and-burn land clearing, and replanting with non-native species, did more harm than good.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, the Costa Rican government encouraged settlement of the under-populated Southern Pacific Zone. The government granted free land to homesteaders who agreed to clear and live on it for 15 years. Many settlers cut and burned the rainforest to raise cattle, supplying beef for fast-food restaurants in the USA. The result was loss of natural habitat for native birds and wildlife.

“Everybody said you have to chop. This isn’t true. I stopped chopping and started planting for four years in a row. I don’t chop at all any more. Ten years later, I see significant growth of secondary forest,” Penland says.
In 2000, Penland began reforesting his Ojochal land with 39 species of endangered hardwoods, including manu, cristobal, ajo, ronron and guapinol, instead of the popular but non-native teak and melina. He attempted to recreate the rainforest by spreading out the plants, rather than putting them close together.
“Native birds and other wildlife haven’t had time to adapt to teak. When you put native tree species back in, the animals come back,” Penland says.

Penland educated each buyer of his 32 Ojochal lots so that they can continue his environmental practices. He is repeating this approach on 1,250 acres he is developing on Escaleras ridge. He has cleared 100 acres of dead teak trees and will offer the wood to his buyers to use for shelving and decking material. He also is creating wildlife corridors and operates a nursery to provide native plants to his buyers.
Restoring the environment is actually boosting his profits. “People are paying a premium to live on my Ojochal lots -- reforested land with a sense of community,” says Penland.