March 20, 2021 marks the beginning of a year of festivities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Santa Rosa National Park (1971-2021), which is part of Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG). On that day, there will be two hours of events that comply with health guidelines, including talks by Alejandro Masís, the director of ACG, and the Costa Rica Minister of Environment and Energy, Andrea Meza. Local bands and artists will also be part of the day’s events, and the celebration will end with the unveiling of a plaque in honor of Álvaro Ugalde, the co-founder of Costa Rica’s National Park Service, and the first director of Santa Rosa National Park. The entire event will be livestreamed, beginning at 10:30 AM Costa Rica time, via ACG’s Facebook site, which is here. Throughout the rest of the celebratory year, there will be virtual talks, Zoom conversations with those who were there at the beginning, as well as other programs. Stay tuned!
For a wonderful recap of the history of how Santa Rosa National Park, and all of ACG came to be what it is today, read this article in Biotropica by Drs. Dan Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs.