On the Sidewalks of La Selva

The rather startling sight of broad concrete sidewalks winding their way through the primitive rain forest is perhaps the most visible evidence of the extraordinary effort -- and expense -- required to maintain a leading-edge scientific research station.

Many times, it takes some considerable doing to thwart Nature’s seeming preference otherwise. “Originally, we became very concerned that the trails were becoming mud holes and destroying the very habitat we were trying to study,” recalls Hartshorn. “So, we built these plank trails, and we thought ‘how wonderful!

“But within six months, a thick algae had grown on them and it was like walking on ice. So then, we added chicken wire for traction, but that started to rip up, so we went to tougher galvanized wire. But the wood started to rot, so we realized that even though the concrete sidewalks cost about twice as much to build, they are essentially maintenance free.”

Nevertheless, he said, the sidewalks are a godsend for researchers seeking to move themselves and their equipment to the remoter regions of the station. A journey that took three hours round trip by foot, might take only half an hour by three-wheeled cycles.

But such sidewalks -- as well as the computers, instruments, laboratories and other infrastructure -- are expensive. So, La Selva is required to charge a higher fee than less developed station, which puts Hartshorn in the position of extolling the value of such facilities to scientists on limited grants.

“One of the surprises to me as executive director is that we have to be much more proactive in promoting and advertising our facilities at La Selva,” he says. “La Selva is a premier research site, and yet the competition is enormous. There are many places that are probably cheaper than we are, so we need to make sure scientists don’t discount the fact that we have such an excellent trail system, a superb grid system that is georeferenced, and great geographical information system facilities. “I fully respect the researchers’ effort to maximize how far her or his dollars are going to go,” says Hartshorn. “But, I saw very early on in my research career the importance of such factors as site security and a wealth of base-line background kind of fundamental information.

“We know a lot about many of the species here; we know a lot about how this complex species rich tropical rainforest works, and a lot about the tree species. So, in fact, we turn out to be a bargain scientifically, because investigators can come in and very quickly build on that fundamental knowledge base to get to the more interesting ecological questions.

Another key OTS constituency is ecotourists, <http://www.ots.duke.edu/en/comevisit/index.shtml> and the OTS has made a carefully considered policy to accommodate them without compromising its scientific goals.

“I think we made the correct decision several years ago not to compete with the upscale eco-lodges in the region, but in fact to try and work with them,” says Hartshorn. “For example, our dormitory-style housing wouldn’t be very attractive to them So, we’ve focused on day visits by ecotourists and are encouraging them to bring their guests to La Selva and the other stations.”