Estero Padre Ramos Natural Reserve, Nature reserve in Chinandega Department, Nicaragua.
Estero Padre Ramos is a natural reserve of about 92 km2 on Nicaragua's northwest Pacific coast, in the El Viejo municipality of Chinandega department. It is a large mangrove estuary of lagoons and inlets, bordered by mudflats, sandy beaches and rocky reefs, with small beach communities such as the town of Padre Ramos around it.
Nicaragua's government designated this coastal area as a protected zone in 1983 to safeguard its ecosystems. The designation responded to the need to preserve the region's natural diversity from growing exploitation.
The reserve's villages, the largest being Padre Ramos, sit beside the estuary and draw on its resources; the surrounding land is also used for livestock rearing, shrimp farming and agriculture. The Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative works here with local community groups and non-profit organisations to research and protect hawksbill turtles and their nests.
The reserve covers about 92 km2 of lagoons, inlets, mudflats and sandy beaches, best explored by boat through the mangrove channels. Access is from the town of Padre Ramos in El Viejo municipality, Chinandega department. Bring sun protection and insect repellent; the terrain is wet and muddy underfoot.
Each season roughly 150–300 hawksbills nest here, about half of all known hawksbill nesting in the eastern Pacific. As recently as 2007 most researchers thought the species had been eliminated from the region. Hawksbills also live in the estuary year-round, unlike the coral reef habitats they use elsewhere.
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