In December 2017, Reserva Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego commemorated its 25th anniversary as a WHSRN site of Hemispheric Importance. Today, the reserve supports 42% of the population of Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica), and 13.7% of the population of the rufa subspecies of Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa).
The Reserve celebrated its designation as a WHSRN site on December 11, 1992, in the city of Río Grande, Argentina. Dr. José Arturo Estabillo, Governor of the province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and the southern Atlantic Islands, and Dr. Gustavo Lekander, a representative of the Municipality of Rio Grande, spoke about the Decree that created the Reserva Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego, which was officially endorsed in 1998 through a provincial law.
Dr. Jim Corven represented WHSRN at the event, and Dr. Pablo Canevari was there on behalf of Fundación Humedales (the Wetland Foundation). Several representatives were also there from Fundación Vida Silvestre – Argentina (Wildlife Foundation – Argentina), the entity that collaborated with the provincial government to carry out the nomination of the reserve before WHSRN.
A flock of shorebirds at the Reserva Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego. Photo: Jan van de Kam.
We can’t forget Nora Loekemeyer and Luis Benegas, the two people that laid the path for this WHSRN site. Nora worked with the provincial government and Luis worked in Rio Grande’s Municipal Museum. Even though they are now retired from their public roles, they continue contributing experience, time, and commitment to the conservation of the site and the management of this protected area. From day one they were the link with WHSRN, the researchers, and all of the organizations that have collaborated to the study and conservation of the coast of Tierra del Fuego.
Three years after becoming a WHSRN site, the Reserve was able to host the first shorebird banding project in Rio Grande. It was during this year in the Reserva Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego that a research team banded the famous Red Knot B95.
On its 25th anniversary as a WHSRN site, the WHSRN Executive Office, Hemispheric Council, Argentine Council, and local partners reaffirm our commitment to protect the Reserva Costa Atlántica de Tierra del Fuego as critical shorebird habitat for future generations.
