Forests · Nosara, Guanacaste

Nosara Landowners Build a Voluntary Wildlife Corridor to Ostional

In Nosara, on Guanacaste's Nicoya Peninsula, private landowners have begun signing permanent ecological easements to build a wildlife corridor running from the hills to the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge on the coast. The project, led by the Nosara Civic Association with SINAC's regional corridors program, was announced in March 2026 with a first 14-hectare easement on the Montaña River. In June 2026, the Supreme Court's First Chamber upheld building limits in the refuge's 5 km buffer zone, which covers Nosara.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026 · Updated October 31, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Nosara Landowners Build Costa Rica's First Voluntary Biological Corridor (2026-03-04)

Nosara is growing fast, and a group of landowners there is trying to make sure wildlife can still get from the hills to the beach. In early March 2026, the Nosara Civic Association announced a biological corridor built entirely on voluntary agreements, in which private owners permanently set aside part of their land for conservation. The Tico Times reported on the project on March 4, a day after Delfino covered it in Spanish.

How the corridor works

The tool is an ecological easement, called a servidumbre ecológica in Spanish. An owner signs an agreement that dedicates a defined part of the property to conservation forever, and the easement is recorded in Costa Rica's National Registry, in perpetuity, so it's meant to stay with the land even if the property changes hands. The rest of the property can still be developed under normal permits.

Linked together, those protected strips can form a continuous green path. The goal, according to the reports, is to connect forest in Nosara's highlands with the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge on the coast, giving animals a way to move between the two without crossing a wall of new houses and roads.

The project sits under the Regional Biological Corridors Program of SINAC's Tempisque Conservation Area. Costa Rica created its national corridors program by executive decree in 2006. What sets Nosara's apart, its backers say, is that each link is a legally binding private commitment. Our guide to nature reserves and wildlife corridors explains how corridors fit into the wider network.

The first easement on the Montaña River

The first easement protects 14 hectares of secondary forest along the banks of the Montaña River in the Santa Marta sector of Nosara. It lies within the buffer zone of the Ostional refuge's wetland. The land belongs to the Río Montaña project of owner Steve Radl, who told Delfino he hopes the effort inspires others to join. According to Delfino, the easement also protects infrastructure the community water association (ASADA) needs.

Neither report said how many owners have signed so far beyond this first one.

Who's behind it

The Nosara Civic Association was founded by residents in 1975 and has grown into a land trust. Its own site says it protects more than 652 acres of forest, about 264 hectares, much of it in areas under heavy real estate pressure. Back in 1985, the association donated land to help expand the Ostional refuge, according to its history page.

Executive director Marco Villegas framed the corridor as a way to live with growth rather than fight it. "Real estate expansion can be guided to coexist with nature," he told The Tico Times. Association studies cited in both reports say Nosara still has about 80% forest cover.

The association's 264 hectares are also in the process of being registered as a new national wildlife refuge, according to both outlets. We couldn't find a published decree confirming that step yet.

Is it really the first?

Be careful with that word. The Tico Times called it the country's first corridor created solely through voluntary agreements, Delfino described it as Guanacaste's first built that way, and the association's site calls it Costa Rica's first community-driven wildlife corridor. Those are the organizers' own descriptions, and private conservation easements themselves aren't new in Costa Rica. What's new is using them as the backbone of an entire corridor.

Why Ostional matters

The corridor's coastal anchor is no ordinary refuge. Ostional is one of the few beaches in the world where olive ridley sea turtles nest in mass arrivals called arribadas, and it's managed by SINAC's Tempisque Conservation Area. Keeping forest connected behind that beach helps protect the wetlands, rivers and wildlife around it. You can read about one of 2026's biggest arribadas at Ostional.

Roads are a big part of why corridors matter. Animals that can't move safely between forest patches end up crossing pavement, which is the issue behind Costa Rica's wildlife crossings bill.

Follow-up: a court upheld Ostional's buffer-zone rules

The land around the corridor got firmer protection in June. On June 4, 2026, the Supreme Court's First Chamber (Sala Primera) rejected a development company's final appeal against the Municipality of Nicoya's temporary building rules for the 5 km buffer zone around the Ostional refuge, which takes in Nosara, Playa Guiones and Playa Pelada, as The Tico Times reported on June 24. The ruling doesn't ban building, but it keeps these conditions in force:

• Lot coverage: new projects can cover no more than half of a lot, which helps rain soak in and recharge groundwater.
• Height: 9 meters in the first kilometer behind the refuge and on slopes visible from the beach, and 12 meters farther inland.
• Lights and wastewater: outdoor lights must be low and not visible from the beach, and new buildings need proper wastewater treatment.

The Nosara Civic Association welcomed the decision, Delfino reported, and, according to The Tico Times, called for the rules to be strictly enforced.

What happens next

The plan is to keep signing easements from the mountains to the sea and to finish the refuge registration for the association's land. For residents and landowners in the Nosara area, the association is the place to ask about joining. Visitors can explore nearby protected areas on our nature reserves map.

Frequently asked questions

What is a biological corridor in Costa Rica?

It's a stretch of land that links protected areas so wildlife can move between them. Costa Rica runs a national corridors program through SINAC, created by decree in 2006.

What is an ecological easement?

It's a voluntary legal agreement in which an owner permanently dedicates part of a property to conservation. It's recorded in the National Registry in perpetuity, so it's meant to stay with the land.

Where does the Nosara corridor go?

It's meant to connect forest in Nosara's highlands with the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge on the coast. The first easement covers 14 hectares along the Montaña River.

Who runs the Nosara corridor project?

The Nosara Civic Association leads it, working with SINAC's Tempisque Conservation Area and its regional biological corridors program.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Nosara Landowners Build Costa Rica's First Voluntary Biological Corridor (2026-03-04)
2. Delfino.cr: Nosara impulsa corredor biológico basado 100% en acuerdos voluntarios de propietarios privados (2026-03-03)
3. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Upholds Construction Rules to Protect Wildlife and Water (2026-06-24)
4. Delfino.cr: Sala Primera deja en firme reglamento de construcciones para protección del refugio Ostional (2026-06-23)
5. Nosara Civic Association: About
6. ECOLEX: Decreto No. 33106-MINAE, Programa Nacional de Corredores Biológicos

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.