Communities · Playa Sámara, Nicoya, Guanacaste

Sámara Residents Push to Restore the Buried Río Lagarto Mangrove

Residents of Playa Sámara are pressing for restoration of the Río Lagarto mangrove, which SINAC says was buried under more than 300,000 cubic meters of fill over past decades. On Sept. 25, 2026, SINAC asked prosecutors to obtain a court order so it can dig test pits on two private properties and set the mangrove's official boundaries; restoration itself hasn't started.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026 · Updated October 31, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica's Playa Sámara Residents Push to Restore Long-Damaged Mangrove (2026-10-06)

Behind the beach at Playa Sámara, where the Río Lagarto meets the sea, there used to be several hectares of mangrove forest. Much of it now lies under fill. Residents want it back, and Costa Rica's conservation agency, SINAC, is asking for a court order so it can measure what's buried and draw the mangrove's legal boundaries, The Tico Times reported on Oct. 6, 2026.

It's important to be clear about where things stand: this is a push for restoration, not a restoration underway. No fill has been removed, and the boundaries haven't been set.

How the mangrove disappeared

Aerial photos reviewed by Costa Rican authorities show mangrove covering several hectares here in the mid-20th century. Delfino.cr reported that a National Geographic Institute photo study places mangrove on the land as early as 1945.

Then came decades of filling. According to SINAC estimates cited by The Tico Times, more than 300,000 cubic meters of material were dumped over the wetland, much of it during the tourism build-out of the 1980s and 1990s. Delfino.cr gave the precise figure from a December 2024 technical report: about 308,199 cubic meters spread over roughly 9.9 hectares, or close to 22,000 loads for a 14-cubic-meter dump truck.

Patrick McGoey, a Sámara resident involved in protection efforts, told The Tico Times that trees were cut, the land was filled, and parts of the old mangrove now look more like open farmland. Another resident, Juanita Castillo, recalled that small-scale fishers once worked the wetland and sold their catch in Nicoya.

The 2024 tower project that woke the town up

The issue came to a head in 2024 with a proposed development called Vistas de Sámara: 37 ten-story apartment towers with thousands of units and 333 condominium lots near the Río Lagarto wetland. A total of 366 residents signed a formal objection sent to the Municipality of Nicoya.

The national environmental review agency, SETENA, had granted the project environmental approval in February 2024. After the developer said it wouldn't proceed and asked for the file to be closed, that approval was canceled in October 2024, according to Delfino.cr, which also reported that SINAC had warned SETENA a month earlier that the project overlapped areas that once held mangrove.

"We're not against development," resident Javier Armijo told The Tico Times, adding that it needs to be thoughtful and proportionate.

What SINAC is asking for now

Mangroves can't be protected or restored until the law knows exactly where they are. In June 2024, Costa Rica's Constitutional Chamber ordered SINAC to study the current state of the Río Lagarto estuary's wetlands and mangroves, giving it 12 months, CRHoy reported at the time.

To finish that work, SINAC's Tempisque Conservation Area wants to bring a backhoe onto two private properties, dig test pits, measure how deep the fill goes and analyze the soil for signs of former wetland. A first attempt in early July 2026 didn't go ahead because representatives of the landowning companies objected, according to Delfino.cr and La Voz de Guanacaste. The agency first asked for a court order on Aug. 6 and repeated the request on Sept. 25 in a letter signed by regional director Nelson Marín Mora, sent to the environmental prosecutors' office in Santa Cruz, which would take it to a judge. The matter sits inside an open criminal case file.

Who's responsible for what

The old mangrove doesn't sit on one property. La Voz de Guanacaste reported that SINAC has identified 9 parcels in the area: 5 privately owned and 4 in the public coastal strip, the maritime-terrestrial zone, which the Municipality of Nicoya administers. The two private parcels SINAC wants to test cover most of the buried mangrove.

That split has slowed things down. In a May 2026 report, La Voz de Guanacaste found that SINAC had asked the municipality in August 2025 to help remove about 85 meters of rock separating the mangrove from the estuary, and that the rock was still there. Municipal officials said that work falls to SINAC because the land is State Natural Heritage, while SINAC's Tempisque office said removing the fill was beyond its budget. The municipality did refuse to renew one coastal concession that overlapped the mangrove in early 2025, a decision that's under appeal. And in June 2026, according to La Voz, the Constitutional Chamber acknowledged that restoration couldn't be finished within its original 12-month deadline without causing more environmental harm.

How long restoration could take

If the boundaries are confirmed and restoration goes ahead, it won't be quick. SINAC estimates the work could take about 10 years, The Tico Times reported, and says the fill would have to come out gradually: moving it too fast could wash sediment into the ocean and harm marine ecosystems offshore. Delfino.cr reported that SINAC drafted a recovery proposal for the estuary during 2025. La Voz de Guanacaste described the first step as gradually removing fill so fresh water can flow back in.

The Coalition for Human Rights and the Environment (CODEHMA) has joined residents in calling for the estuary to be protected, its limits set and a formal restoration plan adopted.

Why a small mangrove matters

Mangroves are some of the hardest-working ecosystems on the coast, as our guide to marine conservation in Costa Rica explains. They shelter young fish and shrimp, filter runoff before it reaches the sea, store large amounts of carbon in their soils and soften storm surges. Sámara's calm bay is a big part of its appeal, and what happens in the estuary behind it affects the water in front of it. If you want to help, our guide to beach cleanups and river restoration lists ways to join organized efforts.

Sámara isn't alone. Other community-led efforts on the Nicoya Peninsula include the Nosara voluntary biological corridor, and the Montezuma waterfall case shows how often neighbors are the first to raise the alarm. For protected wetlands and reserves you can visit, see our nature reserves map.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the Río Lagarto mangrove?

It's at the mouth of the Río Lagarto estuary behind Playa Sámara, in the canton of Nicoya, Guanacaste. Much of it was buried under fill between the 1980s and 1990s.

Is the Sámara mangrove being restored?

Not yet. As of October 2026, SINAC was seeking a court order to dig test pits and set official boundaries. Restoration would follow only after that, and SINAC estimates it could take about 10 years.

What happened to the Vistas de Sámara project?

The developer announced it wouldn't proceed, and SETENA canceled the project's environmental approval in October 2024 at the developer's request.

How much fill covers the Río Lagarto mangrove?

A December 2024 SINAC technical report estimated about 308,000 cubic meters over roughly 9.9 hectares, according to Delfino.cr.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica's Playa Sámara Residents Push to Restore Long-Damaged Mangrove (2026-10-06)
2. Delfino.cr: Sinac pide orden judicial para ingresar a fincas en Sámara y delimitar manglar del estero Río Lagarto (2026-09-29)
3. CRHoy: Sala IV ordena a Sinac estudios sobre humedales en playa Sámara (2024-07-03)
4. La Voz de Guanacaste: Río Lagarto mangrove remains buried: Nicoya Municipality and Sinac evade Court order (2026-05-27)
5. La Voz de Guanacaste: Sinac asks Prosecutor's Office for a warrant to enter private properties in the Río Lagarto mangrove area (2026-09-30)
6. SETENA
7. Sala Constitucional

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