Hello, I Am Feynner: Living Out on Costa Rica’s Osa

It is the early 1970s, and the Osa Peninsula has attracted a diverse set of people. Some are attracted by the promise of "free" land. Others are lured by the prospect of gold in the rivers. The Sandinistas are fighting for freedom. The logging companies want the old-growth hardwood trees. And Feynner Arias has found his way from the Atlantic Coast to the Osa to reunite with his father and brothers. He joins the community of 150 people living on the Osa, a rugged, isolated place. Conflicts arise as neighbors, loggers, gold miners and political factions collide. In the midst of the turmoil, a group of scientists seek to preserve the land and protect the incredible biodiversity. The turning point comes when a scientist is murdered by a family friend. Out of this tragedy comes the birth of Corcovado National Park.

Feynner Arias had intimate knowledge of the Corcovado Basin and its inhabitants, which, combined with his fervent interest in conservation, was essential in the creation of Corcovado National Park. To this end, he collaborated very closely with Mario Boza, Alvaro Ugalde and me as the "insider". Christopher Vaughan, PhD, Director, Associated Colleges of the Midwest Costa Rica Program, Associate Adjunct Professor, Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison

"This is an engaging first-person story of the hard-scrabble life in a very special tropical rain forest that became a gem in Costa Rica's national park system."
- Gary Hartshorn, Tropical Forest Ecologist