Paso Pacifico is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) conservation organization working in Nicaragua to protect and restore the country’s Pacific slope ecosystems. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Reno, Nevada, with field operations based in Managua, Paso Pacifico works at the intersection of wildlife conservation, environmental education, and community development in some of Central America’s most biodiverse and most threatened landscapes.
The organization’s work spans five program areas: sea turtle conservation (including the InvestEGGator anti-poaching technology developed with university partners), endangered primate protection (notably the black-handed spider monkey, whose populations have been reduced by habitat fragmentation and the illegal pet trade), wildlife corridor design that connects fragmented forests from mountain ridges to the coast, the Junior Ranger environmental education program for Central American youth, and a portfolio of community-based conservation enterprises that provide economic alternatives to habitat conversion.
Paso Pacifico’s focus on small, geographically targeted projects and its long-term presence in western Nicaragua give it a depth of local knowledge that complements broader regional efforts. The organization partners with Nicaragua’s Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources, local universities, and international research institutions to deliver measurable outcomes for flagship species and the ecosystems they depend on.
