Tropical Forest Forever Fund at Work: Abra Patricia, Peru

We are thrilled to announce another critical land purchase utilizing our Tropical Forest Forever Fund, a program dedicated to the protection of forested landscapes in Central and South America - winter homes to migratory songbirds and the epicenter of our planet's biodiversity.  Partnering with the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and Asociación Ecosistemas Andinos (ECOAN), GCBO contributed $24,000 towards the purchase of a 58-acre tract of tropical forest to expand the Abra Patricia Reserve in the highlands of the Peruvian Yungas.

The Peruvian Yungas ecoregion, located at mid-altitude in the foothills of the Andes has been ranked among the richest ecosystems in the world. The region is characterized by wet elfin forest, bamboo thickets, and tree ferns clothed in epiphytes and orchids. The reserve hosts a rich avifauna of 317 species - 23 of which are considered globally threatened - and 29 species of Neotropical migrants including Broad-winged Hawk and Cerulean Warbler.

To date, partners have worked to acquire 6,690 acres. With the GCBO grant, one of the few remaining tracts needed to complete the core reserve will be purchased. John P. O'Neill, a GCBO board member, and LSU research associate, discovered this new species, the Long-whiskered Owlet (Xenoglaux loweryi) on August 23, 1976 near the current site of the Abra Patricia Reserve Lodge.