Montezuma was a small fisherman town undergoing a massive depression in the late '60s when Albert S.Ingalls arrived, inspired by the Scandinavian couple Karen Mogensen and Olof Wessmberg, that like him, found Costa Rica's nature breathtaking. A visionary, Albert embarked on purchasing the lands that now form Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Romela (R.N.V.S.R.). Albert purchased the lands from Romelia Vargas to protect them from a predicted boom in development for tourism; due to the beauty of the peninsula de Nicoya. Romelia is located in Montezuma on the Nicoya Peninsula; it was created by Albert S. Ingalls III, by decree number N° 27412-MINAE on November 24, 1998, to contribute to the conservation of the Tempisque Conservation Area (A.C.T.) The land of the R.N.V.S.Romelia exudes beauty, with an extensive beachfront bathed by rolling Pacific Ocean waves. Romelia's seashore extends from Rio Cocal at Playa cocal (alias playa Grande) to Rio Bonito at Playa cocalito. Guarded by iconic sea stacks and an in-land nurtured by peaceful rivers with tranquil waterfalls. It is one of the peninsula's last bastions of pristine wilderness. This Refuge is approximately 224 Ha 8349 m2 (S.I.N.A.C., 2011) with around 50 hectares of beachfront. There are some distinct ecosystems, primary forest, secondary forest, riparian forest, and gallery forest within this territory. The avifauna includes more than 57 species of birds, 26 species of herpetofauna, 13 reptiles, and seven amphibians. There are also 26 species of mammals, including 11 types of bats. In the present R.NV.S Romelia focuses on two main active projects fulled by the power of volunteer work, both national and international:
The Romelia Sea Turtles Conservation Project aims to conserve the populations of turtles nesting on our beaches; this program began in 2009. For this project, we rely on the help of international and national volunteers. Environmental Education program aims to educate the children from our vicinity towns about the importance of land and wildlife conservation. Research Opportunities for Students and Independent Researchers
Our mission is to rally support for long-term, sustainable strategies to restore and preserve wildlife and land—the R.N.V.S.Romelia belongs to the Area de Conservación Tempisque (A.C.T.). And is part of the Corredor Biologico Peninsular, consisting of Cabo Blanco Natural Reserve, Curú Mixed Wildlife Refuge, Karen Morgensen Natural Reserve, Nicolas Wessberg Natural Reserve.
