about 35 kilometers south of the Tamarindo is an area with a different developmental emphasis: the beaches of Nosara. Starting at Playa Ostional a turtle-nesting beach and wildlife refuge for Ridley turtles?,a string of lovely beaches and wildlife reserves extends south to Playa Guiones. Property owners here are attempting to keep this portion of the coast residential as they struggle to shun commercial development as much as possible.
It all began about 25 years ago when an American investor purchased a huge tract of forest and beach and decided to develop the property in such a way as to preserve its natural beauty and wildlife resources. He developed a plan to market about 500 lots, each set into its own part of the wilderness. Almost all buyers were from the United States or Canada; they loved the isolation and the idea of preserving beaches, forest and animals.
Things were going well until a few years later, when the original developer unexpectedly dropped out of the picture (an income tax problem in the States, as I understand it). Residents feared the area could turn commercial like Samara Beach farther to the south. They formed a property owners organization, totally committed to protecting their surroundings. They've convinced the government to dedicate portions of the land to wildlife and nature reserves and are offering to donate even more land. Together, property owners work diligently to keep commercial development to a minimum.

Michael Landweg, a Tico from San Josh, was hired to manage the association, and in turn he hired a staff of guards and caretakers. He said, "Can you imagine what this place would look like if we cut down all these trees to put up cabinas, bars and cheap restaurants?" The association has spent over $10,000 in legal fees, even taking a case to the Supreme Court, in an effort to keep Nosara natural.
"One major problem we have is that newcomers aren't as ecologically conscious as the original owners," Michael said. "Over the past 20 years many of the original owners have died, grown old or lost interest. So we try to educate newcomers about the treasures we have here, about the importance of not cutting down the trees or destroying our animals' habitat." He explained how the monkeys have regular "trails" through the treetops that they use daily to go from one feeding area to another. When the trail is broken by clearing some of the trees, the monkeys are forced to move away.
I was invited to sit in on a property owners meeting. It was interesting to listen to the kind of problems they considered relevant. Their largest concern, second only to taking care of Nosara's natural beauty, was maintaining good relations with the Tico community. For example, members voiced a fear that out?siders from the United States or Canada might open stores in competition with the local businesses, which could make things difficult for the Tico, family-operated places. About 200 members belong to the association, accounting for 30 percent of the foreign residents in the area.

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